Waiting Oneshot series
by PhoenixBlade
Summary: This is a series of oneshots with a theme in Waiting, hence the title.  Taking a break from Snow Pearl and life with random KagSesshyness.  Ratings are subject to change every chapter.  First chapter is G.
1. Five Minutes

In the midst of my Writer's Blocks and whatever else that may come my way, I shall entertain thee with mine stories of oneshots so that thee would not smite me with they smiting powers and burn my pitiful and pathetic self at the stake for mine transgressions! Lol After midterms, classes have been hell for me and is really kicking me in the ass cause I looked at my grades so far and DAMN! They do NOT look good! hehehe... So I've been working my ass off to catch up, but I'm still failing. Agh... So to take a breather, I wrote some oneshots. This serious of oneshots will be written when I need time to cool off from school, work, family and when other fanfics do not want to work with at the current time.

Anywho, rating will occasionally change for every story so be on the watch for that! Okely dokely neighborinos! Read on!

Disclaimer: There will be sex, bad language, graphic violence and abuse of some kind in the later chapters so be wary and **make sure to watch the rating**!...and you're smart enough to know that this fanfic belongs to me but characters and whatnot belong to the great Rumiko Takahashi!

...Btw, this chapter is safe though. ( ^ _ ~ )

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DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha is property of Rumiko Takahashi and all of its respective owners. I own nothing. If I did, Kagome would be having _much _more fun with Sesshoumaru. Trust me, she would.

Also, once again, oneshots will be rated differently each one, so be wary. Last of all, these oneshots are FICTIONAL! Period. This disclaimer will is valid for every chapter hereon out!

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**Waiting: Five Minutes**

_by PhoenixBlade_

_**Rated G**  
_

* * *

The smell of fresh coffee beans permeated the air. The sounds of the barista working hard behind the counter was heard even from her seat, which was the farthest and most isolated from the rest of the cafe. There was no window nor were there many other people near that area, many preferring the sunlit seats near the windows on this bright morn rather than the dim lamplit dark corner of the café.

Kagome fingered the handle of her mug of coffee, turtle mocha to be exact, which was starting to cool down. She looked at her watch and sighed. 4:55. Five more minutes, then he'd be late. She'd wait five more minutes, hell, she'd wait until the café closed down if she could. She took the day off work afterall.

She took a sip of her coffee before looking at her watch again. Only a minute went by. She felt a bit nervous. Maybe he wouldn't make it. They made a promise that they'd get together on the fifth day of the fifth month every year to drink coffee and talk. He wasn't much of a talker, usually the one who ended up listening to her ramble on and on about her life so far up to that point and about the past. Despite it all, she felt happy that he'd listen to her inane stories and she felt that in a way, he kind of enjoyed it.

She took another look at her watch. Another minute had gone by. Only three left. She let another sigh escape.

She had been the first to suggest that they meet at least once every year to catch up. He was, afterall, the only one left from her past. All the friends that she had made were now long gone, their own lives unbeknownst to her after she had made the final trip back to her home after her mission was done. She had tried to return to her friends, but the well had closed up and she was left to live on without them. It wasn't until her senior year in college that she had met him again, unexpectedly, at this very café on the same day of the same month five years ago. They talked and she suggested that they do this every year on the same day. Of course, she had left it up to him to see if he wanted to do it or not. He didn't seem interested, but he had, nonetheless, shown up every time so far, but coming a minute later every year before the time they needed to meet up.

She looked at her watch again. One more minute. Just one more minute.

There was a jingle from the front door. The baristas greeted the customer. She heard a male voice, but her thoughts returned to the person she was going to meet with. She had been scared, intimidated by him, at first. He was the terrifying older brother of the boy she had fallen in love with when she was but fifteen, but now, he wasn't so scary. He wouldn't try to kill her as he did so long ago. Well, he couldn't anyway, with all the human laws that came into play. He was one of the only few left of his kind and he wanted to live quietly in the shadows instead of attracting attention. The only thing that had kept him going all this time was to see her again, a promise he had made to Inuyasha, but then, she had a feeling that perhaps seeing her again wasn't all Inuyasha's fault, at least, that was the feeling she got whenever she saw him.

The sound of footsteps caught her attention. She looked at her watch just as the person came to stand beside the booth. 5:00.

"You're late," she said aloud.

"This Sesshoumaru is never late," came a deep voiced reply.

She looked up as the male took the seat across from her and set his mug of hot coffee on the table.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she said to him.

He merely 'hn'd' and took a sip of coffee from his mug. She smiled. There was so much that she wanted to say to him...but all in due time.

"Okaerinasai,"

He stopped drinking and looked at her smiling face with his amber eyes.

He had waited five centuries to meet her again. If he could wait that long, then she could wait five minutes.

He placed the mug down and nodded to her.

"Tadaima."

* * *

Okaerinasai: Welcome back.

Tadaima: I'm back!/I'm home


	2. Her Worth

Finals is over and I've been waiting forever to get back in the oneshot scene! (as well as Snow Pearl as well!) Two oneshots this time! Whee!

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**Waiting: _Her Worth_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated PG-13**

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**

"Today, Yousuke Kato of Kato Enterprises has announced this afternoon that he will retire after his granddaughter, Kikyou Kato, graduates from high school within the year. In addition, he will hand over the company to his granddaughter once she marries Inuyasha Kageshiro, the younger son of InuTaisho Kageshiro of Taisho Corporation. In other news-"

Kagome turned off the TV with a frown on her face. She hated Kikyou Kato with a passion. The girl had too much and despite all that she already had, she still wanted more. The girl had been all but nonexistent in Kagome's life until two months ago when her grandfather had fallen ill. Then, like the plague, the girl was all over him and her family. It was rather unbecoming of her, to finally show up after all these years to flaunt how much she loved her mother's family in Kagome's face when her grandfather was ill. Yes, Kikyou was Kagome's sister, or to be more precise, her twin sister.

Kagome's frown was interrupted by a cough and she fled to the kitchen to get a drink of water. She gulped down a glass of water, hoping to wash away the angry feelings that still lingered from seeing Kikyou on TV. Kikyou was the embodiment of everything that Kagome never had and could never be. She hadn't been bothered by it at first, but after Kikyou had somehow trampled into their lives, Kagome had been rethinking about it.

After all the years of love and loyalty that she had given to her family, it would have been nice if her family could see just how great she was instead of turning their attention to a sister who had never been there, but was suddenly back and lavishing them all with her attention and money. She barely had any money for herself because she helped her mother out by paying the bills and buying groceries. She made what little time she had to go and see Souta's games and concerts. She dedicated herself to her grandfather and everything that he believed in. She took care of the shrine and helped people who came by. On top of her family, she still had school, cram school, a job and volunteering to do. How she could do all of this, she hadn't the faintest idea, but she could feel the weight upon her shoulders like there was no tomorrow.

Before Kikyou had interrupted their somewhat peaceful life, she hadn't minded, as long as her family was happy and content, then that was all that mattered. For her school choices, she had chosen to go to colleges that were near her house. The school counselors had tried to persuade her to choose bigger and better colleges, even study abroad because of her grades were excellent and her extra workload with work among other things, making her a perfect candidate for prestigious universities and scholarships, but she declined. Her family needed her and she needed to work more to help the family. She would sacrifice all that she could have to help her family.

Kagome shook her head again and slapped her face. It was no good. It was all because of Kikyou. That bitch had to come and screw up everything. She had ruined all her plans by showing up one day in her grandfather's hospital room, and somehow made him love her more than Kagome. Then she visited their house and even brought food to her mother before her second job, thereby kicking Kagome out of one of her house duties when her mother told her that Kikyou would do it from now on. Kikyou showered Souta with great sisterly attention and all sorts of toys of the latest kind. She would even pick him up from school, go to his games and sometimes drive his friends around. .

Maybe Kagome was just jealous. Her family had been so dependent on her that she had grown into that role, but with Kikyou around, shouldn't she have been happy? Granted, their upbringing had been different because Kikyou had been sickly when they were infants. This resulted in her being given away to their father's parents who abhorred their mother for running away and eloping with their son, but because they needed an heir, they made a deal with her mother that they would take care of her and her medical bills from now on if she did not interfere with Kikyou's life. They trained her to become a powerful and proper woman who was meant to take over their company. She knew responsibility well and respect, but she knew selfishness all too well because instead of making Kagome happier with less of a burden, she was taking everything away from her from her family and even her friends because noone believed her words.

Ring! Ring!

Kagome picked up the receiver, "Moshi moshi. Higurashi residence."

"Kagome!" came the voice of her grandfather who was shouting into the phone, "Where are you!?"

She swore in her head. Her grandfather was always loud on the phone. If he couldn't hear someone well over the phone, he'd think that the other person on the line wouldn't either.

"I'm at home, why?" she replied.

"Home? Aren't you coming here!?" he practically yelled in her ear and she slightly moved it away from her ear.

She sighed and shook her head, "No grandpa. I have a lot of homework due tomorrow, and I have a student board meeting early in the morning. I don't have time to come tonight."

"Why not? Kikyou's busy with Kato's company and she still has time to come see me! Why can't _you _make it!?"

She sighed again in frustration as she rubbed her temples. She was starting to get a headache, which was one of many that she had been getting recently.

"Grandpa, I just can't make it, ok? I have a lot of stuff to do-"

Her sentence was cut off by the light crying of her grandfather on the other side of the receiver.

"I've taken care of you since you were a little baby and this is how you repay me? I'm on my deathbed and you don't even love me enough to come see me! I was a stupid grandfather not to have seen this coming. All you younger people have no respect for the elderly these days," he cried.

"Grandpa, you're not going to die and for the most part, I do love you-" she tried to argue back, but he cut her off.

"No you don't! If you did, you'd be here, but you're not. Only Kikyou loves me and cares enough for me to come visit me everyday!" he wept and it pissed her off.

"She only just met you about a month ago! She never came to see you all these years!"

Her grandfather sobbed, "That's because of that bastard Kato! If he hadn't stopped her, she would have come seen me! She told me this!"

"Then why is she coming to see you now?" I asked angrily through clenched teeth.

"W-well, she loves me because we're family, that's why! Kikyou is being a good granddaughter who loves her grandfather!"

"But I'm not Kikyou!" I shouted at him in anger.

"But she cares me about me more than you do!"

I slammed the receiver down and screamed in anger and frustration. He was complaining about love? What about herself? Didn't anyone love her enough for everything that she had done for the family? In one blink of an eye, Kikyou had somehow taken all the love that Kagome had worked so hard for in one fell swoop.

She fell to the floor and cried.

* * *

It hadn't just been her family that Kikyou had taken away, there had been Inuyasha as well, though the fault was all on her own. She had never made the initiative nor shown any indication that she liked him. They had been childhood friends because they had gone through school together and it was also due to his mother's insistence that he understand the public school system. His older brother, Sesshoumaru, had also been subjected to this rule as well once his new stepmother had taken the reins of their education. Kagome had, on occasion, talked with Sesshoumaru for long periods of time, but those instances were few and far apart. Yet when they talked, they would talk on for hours. 

She had a feeling that Sesshoumaru secretly liked her, but she was more interested in Inuyasha. He was rough like a bad boy, but he was gentle at times and it was his gentleness that drew her to him at first. Even so, because of her inability to act on her feelings for fear of rejection, he turned to Kikyou. She met Kikyou for the first time when Inuyasha brought Kagome to one of his father's company's parties that included inviting the allied heads of big companies, including Kikyou. Inuyasha had been enamored by her on sight and the two hit it off immediately, whereas Kagome had been trying for all her ten years that she had been with him.

They had ignored each other at the party, but Kikyou had known that it was her and vice versa. Although they never spoke, Kagome remembered the moment when Inuyasha and Kikyou were walking off to be alone that she saw Kikyou flash her a smarmy smile. It was then that she knew that she didn't like her, especially when the two announced their engagement as early as the end of that night! She had assured herself that it was a momentary lapse in judgement and Inuyasha would know of her true nature, but unfortunately, three years had passed since then and they were about to be married.

* * *

One week had passed since the phone incident. Her grandfather had called the next evening to scold her about how she was being a bad granddaughter compared to Kikyou who was like an angel to him. She ended up unplugging the phone for some peace and quiet. It was because of this that her family couldn't get hold of her and her mother would constantly scold her. Her grandfather had gotten sicker and because of that and Kagome's bad move, Souta would have to stay over with Kikyou at her mansion, which he was very glad to do. Her family had turned against her. 

"Higurashi?"

Kagome screamed and dropped the book that she was putting back on the shelf. She turned immediately to the speaker and was relieved to see that it was Sesshoumaru.

"Oh, Kageshiro-san, it's you," she sighed in relief.

He looked at her a bit, concern apparent in his eyes despite his expressionless face.

She frowned, "What's wrong?"

"You look sick. Are you eating right?" he asked her.

She felt her blood freeze cold and hesitantly chuckled, "W-what in the world would make you say that?"

She saw the worry and concern appear on his face, which was bad considering that he had a very handsome face. He frowned, and she couldn't believe that she was seeing this.

"You've been on edge a lot lately. Your skin one has gotten paler and you look thinner. You look like someone who's about to die," he told her.

She felt another headache rushing in and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. She popped two in her mouth, ignoring anything else that Sesshoumaru was saying. She rubbed her temples to make the pain go away. It didn't.

"And you're taking too many pills," he added.

She scowled at him, "What do you care?"

"I care about your health. Tell me, are you merely punishing yourself by starving or are you trying to attract attention?" he kept pushing at her.

She turned away from him and continued putting away the books that needed shelving, "Just go away."

He suddenly grabbed her wrist firmly and she huffed in annoyance and tried to pull away.

"I will NOT!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Let go!" she started screaming, earning several looks from people in the library.

"Admit it Higurashi, you need help!"

"FUCK OFF SESSHOUMARU!" she screamed at him.

Suddenly, she was hit with a headache so severe, she passed out.

"Higurashi! Higurashi! Someone call for help!" Sesshoumaru shouted frantically.

* * *

Kagome woke up to find herself in the Employee's Lounge of the library. The Head Librarian was there conversing with someone who was explaining about something on a piece of paper that he was showing her. The person handed it to her and left. The head librarian looked over at her and noticed that she was awake. 

"Kagome! How're you feeling?" she asked her.

Kagome groaned, "I'm fine, Kaede-san."

The old woman looked at her with worry etched on her facial features, "Are you sure Kagome?"

Kagome hesitated, but nodded. Noone else needed to know of her suffering. Her family didn't care so why should anyone else? They couldn't do anything anyway.

Kaede was not convinced, but she let the subject slide and gave her a glass of water, "That young man who helped you told me to tell you that he would be back in a bit."

"Young man? Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, accepting it.

"Yes. Now drink up and take these two pills," she told her.

Kaede handed her two pills. She took them and the water, almost struggling in getting it down since she hadn't eaten in a while.

Knock! Knock!

They turned to the door and saw Sesshoumaru.

"Kagome, get your things. I'm taking you home," he told her.

"Home? But-but I haven't finished my hours yet!" she complained, but Kaede stopped her.

"I'll pretend that you did your hours today Kagome. Right now, you need to go home with the nice young man. I'm more worried about your health right now," Kaede told her and she shut up.

She fumed in silence as she gathered her things and followed Sesshoumaru to his car. They drove in silence and she dared not look at him. She could take Sesshoumaru's serious or angry face, but if she happened to look over and see pity on his face, she felt like she would break into pieces.

"Kagome," he finally said and she instinctively turned her head to look at him despite not wanting to in the first place.

He didn't take his eyes off the road, but instead, he moved his hand hesitantly over her lap before setting it over her hand. After a few seconds, he finally spoke, "Let me help you."

Somehow, hearing him say those words brought tears to her face. She turned away and cried silently as his hand tightened over hers.

* * *

Sesshoumaru had made it his utmost duty to make her better again. He refused to let her go back to her house and instead, made her stay in his condo. There, he slowly brought her back to health again as well as who she was before Kikyou cruelly destroyed her life. For years, she had worked herself hard to make her family proud. With Kikyou now in the picture, they had all but forgotten everything that she had done. Her friends had immediately taken a liking to Kikyou's wealth and fame, throwing Kagome to the side like some old broken doll that they didn't want anymore. She felt useless and without realizing it, she had run herself ragged, become severely depressed and starved herself almost to the point of death. 

It took her a couple of months to regain her strength and a few more for most of herself to return. Her family had, instead of worrying about her, become angry that she would do something so stupid as to starve herself, especially when her grandfather was so ill and when they were so poor. She had been angry at them at first for their reaction, but later realized that they were worried for her as well. She had always been the dependable one and for her to suddenly break down was so sudden that they didn't know how to respond to it. They had tried to contact her, but she didn't want to see her family until she got better.

"Why don't you want to see them right now?" Sesshoumaru had asked her one day as he was spoon feeding her, more out of fun than taking care of her now that she was better.

"I want my family to see me as a strong person, because if I don't stand strong for them, they won't be strong either," she told him and shook her head, not wanting anymore food.

"But they have Kikyou," he added as he started to put the food and plates away.

She sighed, "They do, but she's just temporary enjoyment for my family. She'll make everyone happy. I'm just there as support and to hold the family together."

"Your family seems selfish," he scoffed in annoyance as they began washing the dishes.

"But they've gone through so much, they deserve some sort of happiness, even if it's just temporary and hurts others."

"Even if she hurt you?" he asked her.

She stopped from scrubbing a plate and looked at him, "I-I suppose."

"Kagome, noone in this world deserves to be hurt to make others happy, least of all you," he told her.

She giggled a little at his response, "You sound like you've had your fair share of these experiences."

"I did," he answered back, taking a plate from her.

"Really? The almighty Sesshoumaru? In pain? When?" she smirked humorously.

"Everytime you ran to my brother," he said nonchalantly, taking her back by surprise, "If you could be happy with the boy, I didn't mind, but once he took Kikyou to be his, I wasn't happy at all."

"Wait, you mean... Are you implying that... Are you saying that you-"

Before she could go on, she felt Sesshoumaru's wet hands wrap around her. His lips press gently against hers, soft and inviting. She was confused for a split second, but then again, she didn't need to be hurt for anyone anymore nor did she want anyone to be hurt for her. She closed her eyes and kissed him back.

* * *

"I've been accepted. I'm going to go study abroad," she announced to everyone. 

Everyone stared at her with surprise in their eyes. Noone had ever expected her to make this kind of decision, even at Kikyou and Inuyasha's wedding. What should have been Kikyou's day of attention had now become Kagome's. Her family had been a bit reluctant to let her go, but after she had stated her point of needing to see the world, they finally gave in. Even her father's side of the family were nice enough to offer her money and some places that she could go where their power reached out to, but she politely declined.

Kikyou was all but unsatisfied and angry throughout the whole wedding. She acted like a spoiled child, giving Inuyasha a hard time and made him rethink about their marriage, but Kagome forced him to keep his vows.

When the party had spread out to the dance floor, Sesshoumaru took Kagome's hand and had her dance with him.

"You know, I can never figure out why she hates me so much. She's got everything that she wants and I have even less than her," she told him as she watched an angry Kikyou storm off with a not-so-happy Inuyasha in tow.

Sesshoumaru smirked, "That's because I turned her down."

Kagome stopped dancing, "Wait a minute, you turned her down-wait, she asked you out!?"

Sesshoumaru chuckled and kissed her hands, "She did, but that was right before she decided to go for Inuyasha. She wanted to marry me because I was the next in line to inherit my father's corporate throne of wealth and power. I declined and she demanded to know why, so I told her."

Kagome huffed in annoyance and placed her hands on her hips, "So the reason why she was being a bitch that whole time was because you chose me over her?"

"I taught her a good lesson. She can't have everything," he told her and led her back into the dance.

Kagome sputtered, "But she made my life a living hell!"

"But you finally noticed me," he countered.

Kagome thought about it for a second, then smiled, "Good point."

They danced until the end of the song and sat out for the next one, far away from the party.

"You know, in all that time that you waited for me, you could have said that you liked me," she told him.

Sesshoumaru smirked at her, "I waited, and I have you now. Is that not enough?"

She smiled at his response, "Well, maybe waiting is good too."

She leaned in and kissed him.


	3. A Light

Yay, next oneshot! I'm working on the next Snow Pearl, currently. I'll try to put it up in a couple days time! Other than that, I failed my Japanese class. sighs I'm so disappointed in myself that I almost cried when it happened. Oh well, I'll have to take it next year and not next semester cause it's a year-round thing. Unfortunately, I need a third year language to complete my major though and Japanese is in it.

Okies, enough rambling! To the story shall we?

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**Waiting: A_ Light_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated T****

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**

"Excuse me."

Kagome turned her head as she exhaled the smoke from her cigarette. She saw a tall and devilishly handsome man only steps away from her. He was tall young, perhaps in his late twenties, with smooth pale skin that seemed to glow against the dark night and falling snow, and long silky hair that flowed like silver water. He was wearing a long black coat without a speck of dirt or dust on it. Underneath from what she could see was what looked to be black suit pants and black leather shoes that screamed of an expensive brand name. In one hand, he held his briefcase and in the other was a cigarette. It was then that she snapped out of her thoughts when she heard him repeat himself.

"...a light?"

She blinked and realized that he wanted a light.

"Oh yeah, sure," she replied and dug inside her coat pocket for her lighter.

She pulled it out as he placed his cigarette in his mouth and lit it for him. He leaned in and she could smell his cologne. It had a nice smell, spicy, but subtle. It smelled quite expensive as well, and by the looks of his long black coat, he was probably rich too.

He took a couple of puffs and then pulled away to blow out a puff of smoke. She looked at him while he took another puff of smoke before turning his attention to the few passing cars and students in front of him. She knew she shouldn't have, but she kept staring at him. She could probably watch him smoke his cigarette all day because he was so damn good-looking! Despite his model-like looks, his face showed no emotion and was always serious looking. She had seen him several times before and he'd always ask her for a light, but that look was always there. Oddly enough, his face nowadays didn't seem so hard as it had used to be when she had first lit her lighter up for him.

"Just finished taking a Final?" she heard him say after she finally looked away.

She forced herself not to shiver. Yes it was cold, but that wasn't why she had shivered.. She had a thing for men who had deep voices that were smooth and clear. Hell, if he had pulled his mouth up to her ear and whispered something sexy to her, she'd dump her boyfriend on the spot!

She coughed, "Um, yeah."

She was trying not to look his way. He was so darn good-looking! If she did, he could probably see her flushed cheeks and skittish behavior because all her thoughts were running miles per second with rather... sinful ideas involving him, her and-

"Sesshoumaru Kageshiro," he spoke up.

She turned to look at him, "Huh?"

He chuckled and she almost wished her face looked dorkier so he'd laugh his ass off. He looked good with a smile. The smell of tobacco drifted through the air and she wrinkled her nose.

"My name is Sesshoumaru Kageshiro," he smiled at her, though only slightly.

"Oh, h-hi. K-Kagome Higurashi," she stammered and slightly bowed.

She turned away and took in a huge puff of her cigarette. She hated the taste of it and the shit that came with it that forced her to spit it out, but it relaxed her nerves.

She heard him exhale, "You're always here whenever I come out."

She blew out smoke, "Yeah well, just finished my last test so I might not be here next time..."

"Oh?.. What class was your test in?"

She fiddled with the strap of her bag with her other free hand, "Oh, just my Health class."

She heard him chuckle again, "Health class?"

She smiled and turned to him, "Yeah, kinda ironic, isn't it? I only took it because I wanted to be a healthier and fit person."

He looked at her for a few seconds, making her cheeks feel hotter, "You seem fit, but with that cigarette between your fingers..."

"Yeah, I know. It's just calling for lung cancer," she said as she took in another puff of her cigarette.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"So I take it that you're not headed for the Medical field?" he spoke up again.

She shook her head, "Nah. One look at someone's insides and I'm done. Dissecting dead animals in my high school Biology class decided that for me."

She saw him smirk.

"I'm actually an Asian Languages and Literature major."

He rose an eyebrow in curiousity.

She sighed, "Yeah, I know. Majoring in the arts won't get me anywhere. I'll probably end up living in a box after I graduate."

He broke out in a laugh and she silently congratulated herself in making him laugh. Somehow, he looked better when he was laughing rather than being serious as she had seen him all those times before. She smiled as his laughter died into chuckles.

"You're a rather funny person Miss Higurashi," he chuckled.

She smiled and shrugged, "I'm only funny when it's true. By the way sir, you can call me Kagome. Miss makes me sound old."

"Only if you call me Sesshoumaru."

She nodded, "Done."

She took in one last puff before she rammed it into the ashtray to her side. She watched as all the smoke that she exhaled drifted up and disappeared into the air. Sighing, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets to warm them from the cold and turned back to Sesshoumaru. He froze, as if he had done something bad, and she realized that he had been watching her the whole time. She flashed him a warm smile, finding it cute that he thought that he had done something bad, but after seeing her smile, he relaxed, putting her at ease as well. He smiled back and brought his cigarette back up to his lips.

"So _Sesshoumaru_," she started as she turned to him fully.

He rose his head in response to her and took in a puff.

"Since you know _everything _about me now, what about you?" she teased.

He blew out the smoke as she dropped the cigarette and grinded it underneath his slick black shoes.. He shoved his hand into his pocket as well and turned to her,

"_Kagome_, what would you like to know?" he asked, his voice slightly teasing and bit, seductive.

She smiled, "Well, first off, are you a student here?"

He smirked, "Need you ask such mundane questions? The answer's obviously in front of you."

She rose up a hand to stop him from continuing any further, "Ok, ok. I get it. Just wanted to make sure... So you're a professor then??"

He rose a questionable eyebrow at her, "What makes you think that I'm a professor?"

She shrugged, "I dunno. The expensive cologne, Armani clothes and the briefcase at your side."

He tilted his head, "Do all professors wear Armani?"

That one simple head tilt made her want to squeal like a fangirl. She had a feeling that he was doing it on purpose. Was he baiting her?

"So... you're not a prof then?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"I applaud you for your careful observance," he smirked.

It was as if he was playing with her. Somehow, it felt like foreplay.

"So what are you?"

He seemed thoughtful for a second.

She pointed a finger at him and scrunched her face, "And don't lie!"

He smirked, "Very well then. I am a businessman."

Her hand dropped, "The kind of businessman where you work for someone else or the kind where you own your own company and sleep on top of a mountain of bills with ten different girls each night?"

He bursted out laughing again and she waited with pride until he managed to breathe corectly.

"I inherited my father's company, so I belong in the second category, but without the mountain of bills and many girls. I'm just teaching business here for the semester as a favor for a friend. On the issue of girls, I'm currently single and much too busy to look for someone. Most girls look to me for my money, but I'm not interested in financial relationships. I'd much rather prefer girls who can hold a decent conversation with me and not talk business or jump on me like a whore."

She looked at him in interest, "What are you implying?"

"What do you think I'm implying?" he smirked sinfully and she almost melted on the spot.

How could he smirk so seductively like a sex god? Inuyasha was ok in bed, but somehow, this guy was able to wipe off Inuyasha from her head completely.

"I have a boyfriend," she immediately blurted out before she could think.

"And?"

He didn't seem phased by it at all.

"I'm a good and loyal girlfriend," she retaliated, somehow feeling guilty and desperate, as for what she was desperate about, she didn't know.

"I'm not saying you aren't, but I was talking about you as a woman, not someone else's girlfriend."

She was starting to get a little angry, not with him, but with herself for seriously thinking about going off with him, "Are you trying to make me cheat on my boyfriend?"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't use cheating if I were you. If you were happier with another man instead of your current one, then is it not wise to leave him for the other?"

She hesitated for a bit, "I-I love Inuyasha."

He rose an eyebrow, not believing her, "Do you?"

She turned away.

"Is that why you're always here waiting? I know well enough that you don't leave for home right away because I've been here late some nights and still, you wait here," he told her.

She said nothing, but clenched her fist.

"Perhaps there had been a flame between the two of you, but after so many years together, you've probably lost that connection. Perhaps now, you're trying to cling onto a faint hope that you still love him, that you are still loyal."

Kagome was still silent.

"But that's not the case is it? Maybe it's time for you to stop waiting for him to say something because you don't want to hurt his feelings," Sesshoumaru said to her.

There was a long silence. Some students walked by as they talked about their Final papers they had to turn in for their classes. After they left, Kagome finally spoke.

"It was already over," she spoke softly.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, but listened intently. Kagome almost couldn't believe it that she was about to tell what she was about to say to a stranger... but somehow... somehow it seemed right...

She sighed as if in defeat, "We've been trying to work things out and never said anything about how things have never been the same anymore. Since coming to this school, we began to drift apart. We get together and hang out with our friends that we both know. We get along well in front of everyone, but when we're by ourselves, we just act like good friends. I...I know that he doesn't feel the same way about me anymore and I... I don't either..."

She heard snow crunching beneath feet and when she looked up, Sesshoumaru had wrapped his free arm around her waist. Pulling her slowly to him, he leaned down and softly pressed his lips against her. She was surprised, but enjoyed the way his lips moved gently against hers. Slowly, she began to move her lips against his.

* * *

It felt like a mistake at first, but as the night dragged on as they explored one another's body, the feeling faded away. She held onto him as he pushed in and out of her, making her desperate for more. He brought her to the pinnacle of pleasure and delight to the point where she almost passed out each time, forgetting how many times he made her cling to him passionately in want. Well, it didn't matter anyway, not with how Sesshoumaru was moaning and whispering seductive words in her ear. She would submit to his his speed and strength and in return, he would give her what they both wanted. Their frantic lovemaking lasted long into the night and when both were finally sated and spent, they slept. 

She woke up later to Sesshoumaru, who was gently running his hands over her stomach, lazing behind her. She loved the way he trailed his lips along her shoulder and kissed it.

"A girl can get used to this," she smile in pleasure.

Sesshoumaru moved away from her shoulder and kissed her hair, "Aren't you glad you made the right choice?"

"I'm glad I stopped having to wait for him," she giggled then moaned as his hand found its way down between her legs.

"I'm glad too," he smirked.

He had watched her wait for her boyfriend every night for a long time now, sometimes for hours at a time because she was looking for a hopeless reason for them to still be together. He was glad that she changed her mind, but he was also glad that he finally stopped waiting for her as well. He decided to take action by purposely leaving his lighter at home and ask her for a light everytime he finished with class. It all turned out good in the end.

Kagome cried out in pleasure with that sweet voice of hers as he brought her to such heavenly ecstasy with those skillful fingers of his. Smirking, he flipped her over and began to repeat last night's activities again.

* * *

Sorry, I don't smoke so it probably doesn't even look right. Meh. lol Anywho, I just finished Finals so I decided to use Finals in here. Also, I'm an Asian Languages and Literature major so it actually does exist, but because it's so broad, you have to choose a focus of study for it. Guess what my focus is? 


	4. Tale of a Fairytale

Another oneshot in. I've gotten back to Snow Pearl after so long. Many apologies about that. Anyway, I've had this chapter done for a long time now and never put it up. Well, here's the next in Waiting!

* * *

**Waiting: _Tale of a Fairytale_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated: **PG**

* * *

She was getting a headache again. With one hand on the steering wheel of her car and eyes keen on the road, she rubbed her temples and sighed depressingly. They came more often now, her headaches, but most of the time, it was due to her poor diet of not eating and being stressed out from work. This particular headache though, was due to all the cameras flashing in her face and a barrage of questions three hours ago.

There was an event held in her honor of her newest book out, which was the last book in her Feudal Fairy Tale series. There was a rather large turnout of reporters and book fans waiting for her when her editor walked with her to the panel where she had to answer their questions...

* * *

She heard the host say her name and looked up. Her editor was pulling the sleeve of her blouse and beckoning her to follow him. She nodded and followed after him, and in doing so, when she got in range of the host's audience. A sea of flashes and screaming fans made her mentally zone out and turn away to keep herself calm. Instead of looking at all the people, she took in the room.

It was a large room meant for dance parties and private parties for rich men, not for book signing. Nonetheless, her company definitely knew how this one would turn out, considering how a large riot broke out after her last signing of her previously published book. They took care to arrange for a larger place this time, rather than in the corner of a bookstore at the mall, which still hadn't been big enough.

When they finally got to the panel and sat down, she came back, attention fully on the cameras and reporters. The flashes died down, as did the fans, but they were still quite loud.

Her editor pulled her sleeve again. She looked at him and he nodded his face towards the microphone in front of her. It took her a few seconds to remember that they had gone over this in the car and she had to speak. She nodded slightly and smiled to the audience as she cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"Hello! I'd like to thank everyone for coming here today for signing my newest book that just got published, which is also the final conclusion to my "Feudal Fairy Tale" series. Now, before we begin with the questions, I would like to extend a thanks to the hotel for allowing us the room and time for this event as well as to my company for holding this event. And I'd also like to thank my editor for dragging me out to and nagging me all this time to make sure that I finish my book on time."

There was a chorus of laughter as she finished and her editor chuckled a little from her side. She moved forward to speak agaiin, but stopped abruptly. She felt it. A strange tingling at the back of her head, one that came very rarely, but one that she felt very strongly when she was back in Sengoku Jidai. The tingling was now gone, replaced with a heavy thumping against her skull. There was a youkai in the room!

She started to sweat and the light in the room seemed too bright for her. She had to relax. It was now the modern day, no youkai in his right mind would come forward to kill her all because of a book. She was pulled back to reality when she heard her editor whisper her name. The feeling had gone away some, perhaps because the youkai was trying to mask himself, but at least it wasn't so bad now. She blinked and took in a deep breath. Though only a few seconds passed, it felt like an eternity.

She cleared her throat, "Now, since that's over, I will welcome any questions that you may have for me and no, I will not tell you the ending of the book."

There was another, louder chorus of laughter, as well as hands thrown into the air by both fans and reporters alike. Kagome pointed to the female reporter in a red suit in front. She had to stay calm. She had to make sure that the youkai didn't know that she knew he or she was there.

"Miss Takahashi, can you give us a summary of your latest book?"the red suit asked.

Takahashi wasn't her real name, but she didn't want to give out her real name. She didn't want the press to follow her home or calling her house.

She nodded, "Certainly. As you all know, the story is about a modern-day teenager who gets pulled through a well back to Sengoku Jidai, the Warring Era. There, she releases a hanyou from a tree and together, the two journey throughout Japan to reclaim pieces of the Shikon no Tama that the main character accidentally broke and was entrusted with. Now, this book, is the final conclusion of the series, beginning where the last book ended with Kagome being proposed to by-"

There were squeals and cheers coming from her fans in the audience.

"Yeah, I know, I was pretty excited about that scene too," she giggled.

Although many had assumed that her books were a work of pure, imaginative fiction, it was real. Sure, her stories tended to the hearts of young girls and women of many ages with its romance and drama between the main characters. It also touched well upon action and history, which brought in most of her male readers, but what her readers thought of the whole story to be fake was in fact not. Everything in her book had been real and the fact that there was a youkai in the room, trying to hide its scent made everything that she had experienced unmistakably true, but she was the only one who knew that, as well as the hidden youkai. Since it wasn't attacking or wanted to make itself known, it probably wasn't any danger... hopefully.

She continued, "So where was I?... Oh yes, with the last book, the main character realizes that although the hanyou was her first love, the man whom she loves is no man at all, but a youkai who just happens to be the hanyou's brother. In this book, she gives him her answer as to whether or not she would accept his proposal, but also, they finally gather most of the pieces of the Shikon no Tama and prepare for the oncoming and final battle with the enemy."

She waited as the reporters wrote away in their notepads. Several hands rose and she decided to pick a fan this time.

"Yes, the guy with the Inuyasha ears," she called.

There were a few snickers, but the guy wearing fake dog ears on his head stood up proudly but nervously. She felt a spike in the youkai presence, as if its mask had been dropped for a second.

"Miss Takahashi! Will you marry me!?" he almost squeaked.

There was a chorus of laughter and Kagome tried to hide a smile, but another sharp feeling of the youkai power hit her again.

"Uh... well, I'm _very _flattered, but I'm not interested in anything but my work right now," she smiled at him.

The guy looked down and embarrassed. She felt sorry for him.

"Well, life is always full of surprises. There's always someone out there for somebody so if Mr. Right doesn't come along, I'll make sure to keep you in mind," she added with a kind smile.

The guy suddenly looked up with happiness and hope on his face. His friends poked him in jest and some people chuckled. It was then that the youkai presence had faded away. Perhaps it had left. Feeling relieved, Kagome then chose another reporter whose hand abruptly flew into the air.

"Yes, the lady with the hand that's about to fall off from waving too hard," she pointed her out.

The lady laughed, but asked her question, "Miss Takahashi. In your last book, you mentioned in your note at the end of the book that despite the story being fictional, many of the situations in the storyline as well as the characters are in fact based on your own life. As many of us can tell and even from the professional reviewers, your storytelling is perhaps the best in being descriptive to the point that readers can feel that they're actually the main characters themselves."

She waited for confirmation and Kagome nodded.

"Anyway, thanks to the gentleman earlier and from my own fangirl imagination as well as the millions of other fans out there, we all want to know, was there perhaps a certain hanyou boy and a youkai prince ever in your life?" she asked.

She didn't like answering these kind of questions about her personal life because it bordered on insanity. Thinking about them always made her sad because she would remember her friends and the warring era back then.

Seeing her hesitation, her editor cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone, "My apologies but Miss Takahashi would prefer not to answer that question. Next question please?"

There was a series of moans and groans and people complaining. Her editor was nervous, he didn't know what to do and Kagome, seeing as to how she had no choice or would lose her job, decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry about that, but as you've said Miss, this story itself is personal to me. Many of the events and people were in fact real people so in a way, I've already answered your question. Yes, I did grow up in a shrine and yes, my grandfather was a little nutty with his shinto beliefs. My mother was a housewife with no husband and my brother a stereotypical annoying little brother. Yes, I did have a best friend who lost her family, but found her missing brother in the end. Yes, I did have another friend who was a lecher and a little boy who looked up to me as if I were his own mother."

She stopped, just in case so she wouldn't start bawling her eyes out. Everyone was quiet, waiting for her to continue. Her editor whispered something to her, but she wasn't listening. She took a drink from the water in front of her and after a few seconds, leaned back to the microphone.

"So if you're asking me if there was a hanyou boy who was rough and bad mouthed, who loved to eat ramen, but was fiercely protective and loyal to his friend, who was gentle when the moments called for it... yes, there was such a boy."

There were a few more seconds of silence before a fangirl jumped up, "And the youkai lord? What about him?"

She sighed, trying to fight back the tears that were about to sprang forward. She knew she couldn't do it without bursting out into tears. Seeing her struggle, her editor ended the questioning and led her off-stage...

* * *

She sighed, still fighting back the tears as she remembered. She turned the car into her driveway and parked. Turning off the ignition, she sat in the silence and darkness of her car.

Yes, he existed, he lived and it was he who captured her heart in the end. Inuyasha, the hanyou boy, had been her first love. She had fallen for his gentle side and bad boy-like attitude, but in the end, it wasn't meant to be. Somewhere along the way, the love that they held for one another became more of a mutual brotherly and sisterly affection. It was sad and made her weep for days that she had pinned so much of the rest of her life with Inuyasha. Yet it wasn't the fact that he no longer loved her as a woman that made her weep, because she loved Inuyasha the same way as one would for a brother as he did to her as a sister, but she had wept because she had been a hopeless woman who wanted to love someone.

To distract herself from feeling such a way again, she focused entirely on her mission and duty as a miko in Sengoku Jidai. She trained herself to become a better miko and an archer. She learned to defend herself better and protect those whom she loved. When she went back home, she was more attentive to her classwork and caught up with her school friends. She started to become like that of someone whom she didn't know. She always had a mask on and even her own family couldn't figure her out anymore. She became so overwhelmed that during one such battle with Naraku's minions, she became separated from her group and was attacked by Naraku's horde of youkai lackeys. She thought that she would die, but it was due to Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru, that she lived and a little girl, Rin, who made her begin to love again.

She recovered due to Sesshoumaru's care and during their time together, they began to grow closer and spent their days in happiness. Yet happiness didn't last long. Once she recovered from her injuries and excelled in Sesshoumaru special training for her to become stronger, she had to return to Inuyasha and the others to fulfill her duties as the protector of the Shikon no Tama. The battles grew tougher and tougher after each battle with Naraku and his lackeys until Sesshoumaru saved her one day and from there on, he lent his hand in helping to fight Naraku. Yet as the final battle grew close, she would have never expected for him to propose to her.

She felt a tear hit her hand. She woke from her reverie and got out of her car, wiping away the tears. Once inside the confines of her home, she rested against the closed door and sighed, letting all the weariness and sadness wash over her. The tears were coming again and she let them come. She had loved him with all her heart and he as well, but she was stupid. He had become her entire life, but once she went down the well, she lost him, all her friends, everything. The well had sealed itself, barring her from the past. This wouldn't have happened had she not gotten in that damn well, but she had been homesick and now, she had no more reason to be because she couldn't go back in time.

She covered her mouth of hide a cry of sorrow, even though there was noone to hide it from. She didn't want another night where she would drown herself in her tears and alcohol. Although she hadn't been one to drink, she felt that it was the only way to make the pain less, by knocking herself out before it got any worse.

Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming feeling of danger hit her, almost knocking her to the floor. Youkai! It was in her house!

She was quickly scanning her whole house with miko powers blasting to her max. Damn it all that she couldn't defend herself with her bow and arrow in this modern era!

All the rooms were shrouded in darkness and the only light came from the kitchen light which she had turned on upon entering through the door. Not wanting to have the youkai have the upperhand, she concentrated her powers on figuring out where the youkai was. She looked in the directions of all the rooms until she moved her eyes to her bedroom. Her miko powers were now blaring in that direction.

She gulped and slowly moved in that direction. For defensive measures, she grabbed a knife from the kitchen counter. Down the small dark hallway was her room, with the door ajar! She never left her doors open when she left the house so it proved more of a point that there was a youkai in her house!

Her heartbeat began running miles and she felt sweat slide down her cheeks. Her hands were turning cold and clammy and she heard the blood rushing in her ears. She tried to calm down her breathing with slower breaths as she neared her door. There was no noise from within the room. Gulping again in fear, she took a step into her room with knife held forward to protect herself. It was dark, but her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Her eyes were darting everywhere, from her dresser to her open closet to her bed. Even though her sixth sense was ringing like mad, there was nothing there. Nothing in her room.

She sighed. Maybe she was going mad, maybe her powers were bored and decided to sprang up on its own. Hell, it was the modern times. Youkai weren't stupid enough to do things like breaking into someone's home, least of all a miko. They knew to stay away with the wards that she put up.

She put the knife down on the top of the dresser and turned on the light. She went over to her closet and gave it a closer inspection. There was nothing. She groaned in annoyance and pulled out a shirt that she was going to change into. It was then that when she closed the closet and met with the mirror that hung on the closet doors that she saw standing right behind her... him!

"Hisashiburi," his deep, baritone voice greeted her, making the blood drain from her face.

Did she... did she really hear that? She wasn't hallucinating was she? She wasn't seeing this tall, pale-skinned, silver haired and amber-eyed man standing right behind her, was she? Maybe she was deluding herself about this. If she ended up talking to him, or his mirror image, it could just be the beginning of her fall into insanity. Yes, she was going insane.

"I assure you, I am quite real," he assured her, "and if you'd like to confirm it, I'd suggest that you turn around and see the real deal for yourself."

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. What should she say? Hell, should she do as he said and turn around?

As if annoyed, the youkai grabbed her shoulder and swiftly turned her around to face him, but she immediately closed her eyes.

"Open your eyes," he told her.

She shook her head.

"Open your eyes!" he repeated himself, only more forceful.

She shut her eyes tighter and shook harder.

"Kagome!"

Her eyes suddenly opened as her mouth opened to gasp. He said her name!

Suddenly, her hands were touching his face, tracing his forehead, his eyes, his lips… It was him, it was really him!

"Sesshoumaru!" she cried happily with tears in her eyes.

He was here!

"I've been waiting 500 years for you and this time, I'm not letting you go…" he told her.

She cried and held onto him tightly, making sure once more that he was real and he hugged her back. He tilted her chin up to look at him and kissed her.

* * *

youkai: demon

miko: priestess

Hisashiburi: Long time no see!

lol The idea of using Takahashi came from the mangaka's name. Well, I thought it'd be interesting if the mangaka (except that she's a writer here) was actually Kagome in the story. I wonder if Rumiko Takahashi actually puts herself in any of her mangas or bases one of her stories on her own life...?


	5. Beyond 5 Minutes

Hi everyone! Long time no see!... again. *sighs* I'd give you the long schpiel about what the hell I've been doing up to this point, but it's too much and tooo depressing to tell (like Japan and a good friend of mine passing away) so all I can do is apologize to many readers for not updating. I will try to get Snow Pearl done ASAP. As for this, well, stressin out cause of school so here it is, my next piece in the Waiting Oneshot series.

This one is actually a two shot, continuing on from the 5 Minutes oneshot. Kagome. is . better suggested that I continue this one on and this one, unfortunately, ends the oneshot, therefore, its a two shot. Anywho, thanks to those who reviewed and those who are currently reading this. Many apologies once again and hopefully you'll enjoy the second part of this twoshot. Thank you!

* * *

**Waiting: _Beyond 5 Minutes  
_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated PG

* * *

**

When he awoke from the grogginess of the alcohol, he realized that he was still at the same place. Night had fallen, but a thin layer of snow blanketed the cemetery as well as himself, giving off an eerie glow in the darkness. He looked down at his hand, trying to focus his eyes on the finished bottle he held. He tossed it aside and turned over to his knees none too gently. Pulling his coat sleeve up, he tried focusing on what time it was showing on his watch and cursed, realizing that he was far beyond 5 minutes late for his meeting. He should have been worried about it because she always teased him about being late when he still had 5 minutes left until their meeting time, and he was. First things first though, he had something else to deal with before he had to go. He felt a headache coming on and groaned as he rubbed his leather gloved hands over his forehead. It was cold.

The chill in the air shouldn't have bothered him. He was afterall, a youkai, one who could stand against a blizzard waist-deep in snow on the coldest day of winter, but today, his body felt vulnerable. His mind was elsewhere and not attuned to his body today, making him weaker, but the reason for this was due to what laid in front of him. He looked at the large stone slab with kanji and hiragana written all over it. It was a human custom to build these tombstones in memory of the one who passed away. His eyes glanced at a picture of large dog that was looking up at a crescent moon. This had not come with the tombstone at first, but he asked the tombstone maker to add it in after attending the funeral many years ago. He had wanted a human funeral when he died, instead of a youkai one that Sesshoumaru had suggested. Looking above the picture was the person's name.

"Inuyasha…" he whispered aloud, watching the heat from his mouth disappearing in an instant over the name, "Brother…"

In life, he would have never called the hanyou his brother, but then again, neither would have Inuyasha. They were as different as night and day, but they still shared the same blood, same hair and eye color from the father that they had inherited it from. He could recall the day when the hanyou had been born and how he had been angry at his father for giving Inuyasha the attention that he had secretly craved for. His anger turned to hatred when he found out that his father had left Inuyasha the more powerful of the two heirlooms that he had left behind for his sons. Had his father not recognized his strength and the fact that he was inheriting the Western Lands?

He felt the anger well up inside of him. Remembering how he, the first son, had been passed over for the second, and a hanyou at that, had been a humiliating blow to him as the first born and as a youkai.

"I… hated you," he said to the tombstone.

It stood silent, as if waiting to hear more. His gloved hand curled into a fist and his breathing became ragged. He could feel the rage bleed into his eyes.

"…I _had_ hated you. _You_ who took everything away from me after you were born. Father loved your human mother and threw aside his wife, _my_ mother. He gave you the strongest weapon that he left behind instead of handing it to me, the first born. He even _died_ for you."

He snarled and punched the ground, sending up a cloud of snow into the air. He took in larger breaths and let it out slowly to calm down.

"You weren't supposed to be anything or anyone because I didn't want you to be anything. I hated you for having everything… but then again… you didn't have anything either."

He knelt down and brushed away some snow that had clung to the face of the tombstone.

"Society shunned you because of what you were and your lover tried to kill you because of another man's jealousy. Your mother died and… I tried to kill you and take away the sword that father had given you. Yet despite all that, you still carried on strongly and even found someone else to protect and even friends."

I sighed and looked up at the still falling snow.

"I also envied you. Although I had Rin who was like a daughter to me and a loyal retainer in Jaken, I had no one to protect in the same way as you had protected her. Noone to hold or love as you had her."

He looked back at the tombstone and rested a gloved hand on the top. His other hand dove into a pocket and fingered the small object hidden there.

"I couldn't understand why you loved her and was willing to die for her… but after joining you in the final battle in defeating Naraku, it was then that I realized why you loved her so...and ended your days waiting for her."

Some more snow piled on top of the tombstone and he brushed it off.

"She came to me before she left. I was never supposed to tell you, but I think… I think you should know. She knew that she could never return to our world, or rather, our time as I learned later from you. Her last words to me were to take care of you. It was then that I realized that though I assumed that you had taken everything from me, you had nothing at all. She was everything to you, but she could not stay with you."

He pulled his other hand out and placed it on the tombstone along with the other.

"She told me not to tell you, because she loved you… but I've held this secret long enough. I regret not telling you sooner because... Were you still waiting for her to return, even on your deathbed?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head and sighed in regret.

"I was tempted to tell you, but you still held some hope that she would return and I… I did not want to ruin your last moments alive in letting you know after all these years that she…"

He pushed against the stone and stood up. One hand went back in the pocket and nervously tinkered with the small object again.

"As atonement, I promised to watch after her for you… but I… I never expected to…"

He breathed in deeply and let it all out slowly.

"She is a strong woman. I've come to learn much from her over these many years alone after you passed away, but I would have never known how beautiful she was and how life is so precious. She taught me this after I met her again."

He felt something wet drip down his neck and wiped if away with his glove.

"Did you know that I've been watching her all this time before I finally had the gall to meet her in person? Unfortunately, I did not expect her to confront me first, and surprisingly enough, on the anniversary of your passing."

He placed both hands in his pockets.

"We've been meeting more since that day I was almost late to one of our meetings a year ago. Since then, I've come to realize this…"

He got down to his knees and looked at the tombstone with more seriousness, as if Inuyasha was there in front of him.

"I've never asked for anything in my whole life. I've always taken what I wanted, but this time, I can't take her unless I beg you first for forgiveness and if you will give her to me. She was yours first afterall. Do not get me wrong. Kagome is not an object, but she loved you first and you loved her. For now… please… tell me if this is right… if it is right to love her because I lied to you."

He placed both hands down and bowed to Inuyasha.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything I've done… but please… will you allow me the chance to love her, and give her the happiness that you had been denied from because of my stupidity? She regrets to this day for what she has done, as I have as well, but will you forgive us just this once and give us your blessing…?"

He waited, wanting an answer but nothing came. He waited and waited, but there was nothing, save for the occasional cawing of crows and the distant sounds from the running trains and cars. Perhaps he was just being an idiot. Getting drunk on his brother's tombstone and begging it for forgiveness as if it were actually Inuyasha. Perhaps he did not deserve her love after all…

Taking out the small object in his pocket, he left it on the tombstone. He bowed one last time to Inuyasha and returned to his car. Just as he was driving out of the long road out of the cemetery, something large and white jumped in front of the car. Sesshoumaru immediately hit the brakes and swerved the car to avoid it.

SCREECH!...

When Sesshoumaru came out of his daze, he got out of his car and looked behind him.

"What the…" he trailed off.

A large white dog with a large beaded collar was standing in the middle of the road whining. Had it jumped out in front of his car?

Worried that the dog had gotten hurt, he closed his car door and began to walk towards the dog. When he was within a few meters from it, it barked at him, stopping him in his tracks and fled towards the direction that Sesshoumaru had come from. He watched as it stopped just before the long rows of tombstones started and turned back to him. He rose an eyebrow in curiosity as it sat and whined at him, still wagging its tail. It didn't look hurt.

He scoffed and shook his head. Here he was, former Lord of the Western Lands, worried about a mere dog that he almost plowed over. There were far worst things that he killed and even less that he cared about when he was still lord. He sighed and looked back to where the dog had been standing. It had left something small behind. Walking up to it, he bent down to pick it up, but froze.

He was dumbfounded, "What…?"

There, on the ground, was the small object that he had left behind on Inuyasha's grave. Slowly, he picked it up, brushing off the snow. Why had the dog brought it back to him…?

Realization hit him and he immediately turned back to the dog who was now standing on four feet and wagging its tail. It barked at him and shook its head as if to tell him to go.

"Is this… for me?" Sesshoumaru asked it.

The dog barked again, as if confirming it. It shook snow out of its fur, making the circular and pointed beads on the collar clunk against each other.

His eyes focused in on the pointed beads before he shook his head and turned back to the dog, "But… I shouldn't. I shouldn't give this to her-"

It barked again, stopping him, and started growling.

"I shouldn't be with her. I do not deserve her."

It snarled at him and released angry barks at him, as if saying that he was an idiot. It barked a couple more times angrily before turning around and fleeing between the gray and white of the tombstones and snow.

Sesshoumaru was left there, dumbfounded that he even had this "talk" with a dog, but after a few moments, something akin to the smile found its way to his lips. He looked up at the moon and noticed that it was a crescent moon. He returned his gaze back and bowed in the direction of Inuyasha's tombstone.

"Thank you…"

~,`~*~,`~*~,`~*~,`~*~,`~*~,`~

He was speeding because he was late. He was late because he went to go see Inuyasha. It was because of seeing Inuyasha that he decided that he shouldn't wait any longer, nor should he make her wait any longer.

He slowed down and slightly skidded on the snowy road as he turned the corner and found a place to park. He rushed out of his car and ran to the café where hopefully the one he was supposed to meet with was still waiting for him. He clutched tightly onto the small object in urgency. He was beyond 5 minutes late now, but in time, maybe she would forgive him, just this once. After all, this was the first and last time that he'd be late.

Was the café closed? Would she still be there? Please be there…

"Please…" he muttered in desperation to himself and gripped the object more tightly.

Pouring more of his youkai speed in, he weaved in between people in his way until he turned another corner and slowed down. The café was dark. No lights were on. Noone was there.

"No…" He was too late.

She was gone…

_ If I am ever late, feel free to leave. It is up to you if you do not wish to return…_

Those words came back to him now. Five years ago when she joked that he was almost late for their meeting, he told her that. Though she had a smile on, she told him that she would leave and never look back. She had been serious, as well as he. Now, because of his foolishness, she was gone… perhaps forever…

He fell back against the wall of the café and slid down to the ground. She was gone…

He felt his heart aching, as if someone were squeezing it until it was ready to burst. He felt empty and hollow. He had been too late…

Too lost in his own misery, he didn't hear the crunching of snow coming his way.

"Sesshoumaru?"

That voice!

He looked up and thought perhaps he had been hallucinating. There, standing toe to toe with him was none other than Kagome, face flush from the cold and wisps of smoke escaping with every breath she let out. There was a long silence between the two as they stared at each other, one in relief and the other in worry. Kagome bent down to his level and smiled warmly at him. Her smiles were one of the many things that he had grown to love about her. She didn't just smile with her lips, but with her eyes, her skin, her whole body, even her aura.

"Okaeri," she smiled.

He didn't say anything. Growing worried over his continued silence, she stood up and lent him a hand. He took it, but instead of pulling him up, she was pulled down, falling between his legs into a desperate hug.

She was somewhat surprised at his sudden action, but even more so when he mumbled something into her ear… What? Wait, was he asking her to…?

She felt his hold on her loosen enough to lean back as he reached into his pocket and placed a small object it in her hands. She was dumbfounded and couldn't find the words to speak as Sesshoumaru looked on in nervousness.

A minute passed as she continued to stare at the small object. Taking her silence as rejection, he opened his mouth to take back what he said, but she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. It was gentle, soft and warm. He felt the apprehension and the pain drift away as she broke away from his lips and touched his face with her chilled but warm hand. He turned his face and kissed her hand.

He smiled at her, "Tadaima…"

* * *

Many thanks to AnimeMoonlightGoddess, brucasfanatic, kagome . is .better, EternalLove495, Amadoni, chelsea34 and Edward-is-my-vamp-so-back-off for reviewing! To everyone else, thanks for reading!


	6. Lemon Gumdrops

Hi! Long time no see...again... *sighs* Many apologies, I just haven't been a good author frankly and its depressing really. Snow Pearl cannot get updated at this time because a close friend of mine passed away a little while ago, classes were just killing me and too many family problems I've had to deal with. What's worse, my laptop had the nerve to crash on me. Unfortunately, I was stupid enough not to back anything up so I've nothing on me. All my drafts and edited chapters that were never uploaded were in there so... yeah, I've got nothing and it just about killed my motivation to write... Don't worry, I won't give up on my fanfics. The only problem is the motivation to write all that I've lost, including the chapters I wrote and trying to remember what happens next. Still, I'll try to get something up soon... hopefully...

Anywho, new chapter for Waiting oneshot series. This one's kind of short, but hope you enjoy...

* * *

**Waiting: _Lemon Gumdrops_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated T**

**Warning:** a little bit of dirty humor and actions, but nothing too bad... I think...

* * *

Looking at the large array of colors in the big glass jar, Kagome couldn't resist plucking one out and popping it in her mouth. She sucked on the sugar coated gumdrop until the sugar dissolved and began rolling the piece in her mouth. It was cherry-flavored. She squealed in joy.

Someone interrupted her, as she chewed the gumdrop, with a scoff, "Honestly, you're just like a child when you eat those things."

Kagome turned away from the big jar of gumdrops to look at the owner, who was lazily leaning in front of the counter with a newspaper in hand, and smiled once she swallowed the last bit of gumdrop in her mouth. He was still the egotistical and arrogant pompous from 500 years ago, but still as gorgeous as the first day she saw him. He had long silver hair, golden eyes, pale skin, a muscled body and a deep, husky voice that could melt a fangirl into goo in a second. She still couldn't believe it that she would come across him with her archery club friends (who were also avid fanfic writers of anime and manga like she was) who wanted to check out the hot new candy shop owner near their university. They were both surprised to see each other, but she returned to see him everyday afterwards.

It was still hard to believe that this man, once a powerful and deadly taiyoukai who ruled the Western Lands in feudal Japan, was now running a small candy shop in a small rural area in Tokyo. Instead of the white kimono, bone armor and the two swords that were once at his side, he was now wearing a simple white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a milk white apron, khakis and oddly enough, a pair of sandals that made him look more lazy than bossy. Although he no longer sported his youkai markings that he was once so proud of visibly, he still retained that snobbish attitude and awesome aura around that kept squealing high school girls at bay and angry street punks away.

"You're just jealous Sesshoumaru, cause I'm sucking on this right now and not you," Kagome teased.

He immediately looked up at her from the newspaper and narrowed his eyes as he used to do on his enemies when he was miffed. Suddenly, one corner of his lips twitched up ever so slowly.

Oh, she was sure he was going to say something dirty…

"Oh really? Would you like to test that theory of yours? I'd be happy to lend a hand… or rather, another part of my anatomy," he smirked.

She felt her jaw drop and crash through several layers of earth. He had just given her a dirty response and her mind was too busy processing it to have a snappy comeback. A 21st century youkai lord was still something she still had to get used to, even if they had gotten to known each other for last two years, half of that being in a relationship together.

She felt the heat rush to her face as she stammered for a response, but could not say anything.

"One should not say things in which they cannot retaliate," Sesshoumaru stated as he returned to his newspaper.

Kagome crossed her arms and humphed, "Remind me that next time I write a fanfic about my jerk of a boyfriend."

He merely shrugged at her. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head. Tossing a specific flavored gumdrop into her mouth, she walked over to him.

"Nee… Sesshy-kun…" she whined as she pulled down his newspaper.

He rose an eyebrow at her, but refused to put down the newspaper.

"…This gumdrop is really good! Would you like a taste?" she smirked.

He gave her a you're-acting-really-weird look.

She placed two fingers on her lower lips, "But I can't seem to taste the flavor so since you know your sweet stuff, Mr. Candy Man, can you figure out what its telling me?"

He looked annoyed, "I can smell it you know. It's-"

Before he could say anymore, she pounced on him and kissed him on the lips. Still surprised by her attack, she quickly passed the gumdrop from her mouth to his by tongue and stroked the inside of his mouth a bit before pulling back. Sesshoumaru was still in a state of shock, his newspaper rumpled and ripped a bit in his hands and still looking down at Kagome as if she had just down something wrong, but had liked it. She looked back at him with a childish smile.

"So? You have to chew it to get the taste you know!" she winked, "I'm waiting!..."

Taken back by her words, he closed his mouth and rolled the gumdrop between his teeth. When he swallowed it, he immediately ripped off his apron and went to the door and flipped the open sign over to close.

Kagome became confused, "What're you doing?"

He rushed back to her and kissed her hard on the lips. When they broke apart, he left her panting and gasping for air and before she knew it, he had grabbed her and taken her to the back room. Closing the door behind them, he laid her down on the floor and began to unbutton his shirt.

Although Kagome knew where this was going, she couldn't help but grin and ask, "Nee, what're you doing Sesshoumaru?"

Unbuttoning the last button, he kissed her so hard she felt like her back was digging into the floor. When he pulled away again, he gave her one his drop dead gorgeous smirks.

"I'm doing exactly what your choice in gumdrop flavors was telling me to do you fanfic obsessed miko…"

Kagome couldn't help but shudder in anticipation at the sound of his voice. He smirked again and began unbuttoning her shirt. This was definitely going in on her next fanfic…

Lemon was _definitely_ her new favorite gumdrop flavor.

* * *

Hmm... I saved a bunch of fanfics that I've read and liked on my laptop, but since I no longer have it... I was wondering if you guys can help me figure the names of several of them? There's one where the fanfic takes place in "The Labyrinth" world and Sesshoumaru is Jared and Kagome is Sara. Kagome gives into Sesshoumaru's demands because she can't get out of the Labyrinth to save her brother and he takes her to his castle. He seduces her and there's mad love-making afterwards (I think it was like a one or two shot). Can't remember the name of it.... There's also this doujinshi someone drew that I really liked where Kagome's sneaking out at night to have a rump with Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha ends up spying on them by accident. I remember one scene where Sesshoumaru snaps her panties off and has this cute playful smirk on his face at Kagome's reaction. Sorry for asking this of you guys, but thanks in advance!

Well, as for fanfics that I've been reading up on, I really liked piratequeen0405's "Peace Treaty." Lots of Kags and Sesshy doing happy excercises together and political intrigue which rocks my socks! You must go and have a read! ^^

Anywho, thanks again for reading!


	7. The Request

* * *

This oneshot is rather long. I was up till 5 in the morning trying to finish this, but didn't and just finished it a little while ago. It's actually sorta based on this hentai manga (I came across it while trying to look for some smutty doujinshis *teehee!*) and despite the hentai parts, the story was actually very sad, but very sweet. I forget what the manga's called though... Anyway, R & R! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Teletubbies are not mine. Inuyasha isn't either but this fanfic is!

* * *

**  
Waiting: _The Request_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated T  
**

* * *

_**  
The Deal  
**_

He could hardly believe what he was hearing. He, Sesshoumaru, had just been asked by his younger _half_ brother, Inuyasha, to help his best friend study to pass the exams to graduate. At the moment, the whelp was looking away in annoyance with a scowl on his face. It was clear that he didn't want to ask him for help, but something must have triggered this request.

"You…want _this_ Sesshoumaru to help your friend study?"

The boy's eyes snapped at him in anger and Sesshoumaru merely smirked back at him. The boy didn't like him, nor he to him. They had hated each other since they were little and he wouldn't have it any other way. Annoying the brat and making him weak and vulnerable in front of him always made his day.

"Tch! I don't really wanna have you do this either, alright!? So you gonna do this or what?"

The boy had the nerve to snarl at him… but no matter, he was enjoying this small act of submission.

Turning to the next page of the book in his hands, he spoke up, "And what do I get in return?"

Inuyasha was biting his lip to stay silent, but his aura was flaring up a storm. Whatever he was giving up, he obviously didn't want to say it.

"Well?" he asked the boy as he closed the book.

"…"

The college student placed the book back on the bookshelf and began walking away, "If you've nothing to offer, then this Sesshoumaru will-"

"I'll dogsit Fluffy next month," he barked out finally.

He stopped and turned around. It was a tempting offer. By doing this, he could free up his schedule for the next month and take that nagging girlfriend of his to that damn restaurant that she had been whining about for the last couple of days.

"Make it three and I may consider it," Sesshoumaru added as he tossed his silver white hair over his shoulder for effect.

Inuyasha's face turned red with anger and yelled, "What!? But graduation's in three months! I can't watch a dog while I'm studying for the exams!"

"Hn. Then you will have to find another tutor for your friend," he told him nonchalantly and turned back towards the exit.

"Two months! That's all I'm offering!"

Sesshoumaru stopped and thought it over for a few seconds before speaking again, "Two months _and_ babysitting Rin next month when she's over."

Inuyasha huffed in anger, but replied, "Fine! I'll dogsit _and_ babysit!"

Sesshoumaru smiled to himself. He would be free for the next two months! It was too bad he didn't stop to look around to see the reaction on the idiot's face, but he could probably imagine how it looked like, and what a sight it probably was!

"Tell that friend of yours to come home with you tomorrow. We start right away," he told him and exited the room.

* * *

_**  
The Friend  
**_

Of all the people he could have had to tutor, he didn't think that it would be _her_, the chatterbox girl. There she was, sitting on the other side of the table in her white and green school uniform, dark hair tousled and unkept from a long day at school and hazel blue eyes sparkling in gratitude. This girl, Kagome, was also the whelp's best friend, and one he had hoped wasn't the one who needed tutoring.

"You have no idea how grateful I am to have you help me on studying!" she smiled brightly at him, "Thanks Sesshoumaru!"

Honestly, this girl was too happy for him. Everytime he saw her over at their house, she was always laughing, smiling and killing his ears with her incessant talking. His father adored her, his step-mother loved her like the daughter she never had and their cousin, little Rin, wanted her for a sister. Even Fluffy, his dog, always ran to her whenever she was over. Sometimes he just wanted to darken that radiating light of hers just a tad bit so he wasn't overly blinded by her bright white teeth.

"Hn. Do not thank me yet girl. Before we begin, I must set some rules for you first."

She rose one eyebrow but nodded, "Um, sure… I guess."

"First off, be punctual. I do not like tardiness. Aside from tardiness, I do not like absences either. You will come here everyday when you are not at your club practice. If you miss one day of our lessons, I will immediately call this off and you will have to find another tutor," he told her.

She rose her hand, "Wait, what if my brother gets sick or the teacher keeps me afterschool for some reason?"

He narrowed his eyes on her. Did this girl not know how to respect rules?

"There will be no excuses," he told her sternly in an even voice, "You will either be here or not here at all."

She looked at him with mouth open wide in retaliation, but clamped it shut after nothing came out. She crossed her arms in annoyance, reminding him of a certain half brother of his who always did the same thing.

"I see the half-breed has rubbed off on you," he scoffed.

She scowled at him, "Yeah well, at least he doesn't have an icicle shoved up his ass."

He didn't like her attitude. The half-breed was certainly rubbing off on her in more ways than one.

"And another thing, you will respect me or I will have no qualms about ending our study session here and now," he told her, voice more stern and annoyed than before.

She waved her hands frantically in the air, "Ok ok ok… I'm sorry for acting this way. I'll go by your rules. It's just that… well, I'm really happy that you agreed to help me, but I'm just not used to… you know…"

_Me, you're talking about me right? Hn. No matter, by the time I'm done with you, you'll wish you never asked me for help…_ he thought to himself.

"Hn. Very well then. Let's begin."

She smiled and opened her book.

* * *

_**  
The Late One  
**_

He tapped his finger on the table. Sesshoumaru was not a patient man. The girl was already half an hour late. Honestly, she had promised him that she would abide by his rules and not be late, but at the end of the week had broken rule number one.

The sound of running footsteps caught his attention. Suddenly, the door was thrown open and a panting Kagome rushed into the room with her book bag.

"You're late," he told her, annoyed.

Her hands were down on her knees as she sought to calm down her breathing. He wasn't happy, especially in having to wait for her to start their lesson.

Her head rose and she panted, "Sorry… Important…Phone call… Something… came up…"

"You agreed that you would not be late," he told her with a grim look on his face.

After catching her breath she stood up straight and clasped her hands together, "I know… Sorry! I promise it won't happen again!"

Fuming, and not wanting to argue with her any further, he slammed his book down none too gently.

"If you are late again, I will not hesitate to increase your workload for the next lesson," he barked at her.

She looked at him hesitantly, "So… you're not canceling our study session?"

He looked at her annoyingly. Seriously, was this girl stupid?

"Are you absent? If you are not, sit down and open your book!"

Instead of saying anything back, she smiled at him and did as he told. Sparing one last glance at her, he opened his book.

"Let's begin."

* * *

_**  
The Book  
**_

"I can't believe you lost your book!" he fumed one more time.

She turned away from the bookshelf and clasped her hands together in forgiveness, something that he had come to acknowledge and hate about her, "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to lose it! When I got home, I realized that it was missing! I'm really really sorry!"

"Whatever. Hurry up and look for it," Sesshoumaru scoffed and walked away from her.

What should have been another evening of studying turned into a book hunt at the book store. Kagome had lost her book somewhere at school and in turn, turned up at the mansion bookless and clueless. Already two and a half weeks into her lessons, it took her several promises to do extra homework for him to relent and not stop their lessons. Plus, he was actually starting to, dare he say it, enjoy himself around her. The girl was easy to tease and though she talked back and blabbered the night away, she made him feel at ease… something his current girlfriend could never do.

He suddenly felt someone jump on him, "Sneak attack!"

Realizing whose voice and hands were poking his back, he turned around and faced the attacker head on, "Kagome, we've no time for your antics. We've wasted the evening away and by the time we get back to the mansion, it'll be time for dinner and there won't be enough time for you to study!"

She smiled and lightly punched him in the shoulder, "Oh come on Sesshoumaru! You're such a spoilsport! Lighten up a little! Instead of eating with the family tonight, we can eat in the study room if that'll work out better for you."

He sighed, "Father will not be pleased. We must eat with the family, as we've been doing every night since you've studied at our house."

Her smile faded away into a pout, "You're right. Your dad's not one to mince words with. He's a great guy, but I've never seen him angry…I doubt I'll ever want to see him angry."

He looked down and saw a book in her hands. Taking the book, he looked through it, "Is this it?"

"Well, you tell me Einstein. Is it the book?"

He glared at her unappreciatively and she smirked back at him. Rolling his eyes, he turned away and began walking towards the cashier.

"You did _not_ just roll your eyes at me!" Kagome exclaimed in astonishment, "The Ice Prince can actually be a human being sometimes!"

He sighed in annoyance and placed the book down on the counter. Kagome giggled and came up beside him. The cashier, an old man, saw Kagome and flashed a toothy smile at her.

"Good evening Kagome!" he greeted her.

"Good evening, Fujimoto-san!" Kagome beamed at the old man, "How're you doing today? Is your wife in or is she teaching a lesson today?"

Sesshoumaru rose an eyebrow in slight interest as the two became engrossed in their conversation. He was rather surprised that the old man was so responsive to Kagome… as well as talkative as her.

_Well whaddya know, birds of a feather flock together…_ he surmised.

"Oh! By the way, that Brail book you wanted is coming in tomorrow. Will you be in tomorrow to get it?" the old man asked her, capturing Sesshoumaru's attention.

She shook her head, "No, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. Maybe I'll stop by this weekend."

Someone cleared their throat behind them, catching the attention of the old man.

"Oh I'm sorry. Here we are talking and I haven't told you the price yet!" the old man chuckled.

"Oh, hold on a second, Fujimoto-san. I have to look for my wallet," she told him as she searched in her bag.

Sesshoumaru shoved a card in front of the old man. He took it and ran it through as Kagome looked on in shock.

"Sesshoumaru! What do you think you're doing!?" she shouted at him.

The old man handed back his card and receipt, and he took it, "What do you think I just did, girl? Take your book, we're going back right now. No more delay."

He left the store as Kagome grabbed her book and rushed out after him.

"B-but it was my book! I could have paid for it!" she exclaimed.

"Hn. You can pay me back later," he merely said.

After a few more moments of bantering back and forth, Kagome finally came to the conclusion that she would pay him back by taking him out for a day with a free meal.

"It'll only have meaning if you pass the test," he teased her in his regular bored tone.

She punched him in the shoulder, "Don't jinx it for me!"

He smirked and the two continued walking in silence for a few moments before he remembered what the old man and she were talking about at the store.

"You read Brail?"

She seemed to have jumped out at her thoughts and turned to him, "Um, sort of. I just started and I'm not that good yet."

"Hn."

He was surprised that she would even take interest in things of that sort, but this was Kagome, someone whom was starting to amaze him in ways he never would have thought possible. Perhaps she wasn't as stupid as she had first seemed…

They didn't speak the rest of the way.

* * *

_**  
The Break-up  
**_

The door to the study room opened just as he chucked his cell phone at the wall beside a surprised Kagome.

"What're you doing here!? Get out!" he yelled at her angrily.

He was in no mood to be messed with today. His girlfriend-**correction**, his _ex-_girlfriend, had the gall to call him just a moment ago trying to explain her _questionable_ position on top of their professor, in his office no less, the day before. After catching them together, he broke it off with her, but she had been trying to call him since yesterday and he had been ignoring her calls. When he finally answered the last call and demanded answers, she finally broke down and told him that she had been sleeping around with the professor for the past few months. He was an idiot not to have realized it… but then again, his interest in her _had_ been waning…

Kagome stood still and was quiet. He noticed that it was the first time he had seen her without her school uniform on. This was their first weekend studying together due to a switch in both their schedules.

Calming himself down, he spoke, "Forgive me. Today… is not a good day. We'll continue your lessons tomorrow."

She set her lips to a grim straight line, "No."

He wasn't in the mood for a sparring contest with her today and glared murderously at her, "Girl, did you not hear me? Leave!"

Instead of doing as he said, she walked forward and grabbed him.

"What're you doing!?" he growled at her, but she ignored it.

"You, Sesshoumaru, are coming with this Kagome to forget your woes. So shut up and just come with me or I will tell Inuyasha about this," she told him forcefully.

If Inuyasha got wind of this, he would never let him down about it… Defeated, Sesshoumaru sighed and stopped fighting back. Though small and seemingly weak, Kagome was quite the powerhouse sometimes…and sometimes… she seemed stronger than him…

* * *

_**  
The Day Out  
**_

Kagome was licking an ice cream cone as Sesshoumaru looked off in the distance wordlessly.

Why was he here at the park with her again? Oh right, she was trying to cheer him up after he broke up with his girlfriend. After she nagged him incessantly about why he was so pissed off, he finally gave in and told her. He mentally groaned and slapped himself on the head. He had just shown weakness in front of a girl, Inuyasha's best friend no less.

"So why did you go out with her?" she asked him after she finished her cone.

Too tired to care about his pride, he answered, "She came to me. She had a sexy body so I went out with her."

Kagome rose an eyebrow at him and scoffed, "Men!"

"It's the truth. I am a man and when I want something, I get it," he told her.

She shook her head at him. "You may get what you want, but it doesn't look like you're any good at keeping it."

He scoffed and leaned his head back on the cool bench. Kagome looked at him and giggled a little.

"Inuyasha used to tell me stories about you two, you know? He always told me about how he always had to fight for the things he wanted, like his girlfriend Kikyou, and you always got what you wanted."

He closed his eyes and zoned in on her talking.

"But you never could keep the things that you wanted, could you?" she said to him, "…I have something to tell you."

"Hn."

She hesitated a bit, but continued, "While you were away at the university, Inuyasha and I sometimes...uh… raided your room."

His eyes snapped open and he looked at her with a not too happy face, but she giggled at him instead.

"Oh don't worry," she waved her hand at him, "we didn't do anything to your stuff."

"I would hope that none of my things were touched," he scoffed.

She smiled lightly and turned to look at her feet, "We never took anything, just kind of browsed through, you know?... Your room was really clean, like nothing had been touched and everything had been placed there for a long time. Not like Inuyasha's messy and junkyard of a room, but I was surprised as I looked through your things… there was nothing at all."

Shaking her head, she looked back at him, "How could someone like you, who had all that he could ever want, not have anything at all?"

He said nothing and looked down, but she continued.

"Then it dawned on me, everything that you got freely had no meaning for you. You never had to work or fight for the things that you've wanted. They came easy to you. Even Inuyasha, who had to fight for what he wanted, kept almost all his junk with him, but you… You got things handed to you on a silver platter, but they have no meaning to you and you tossed all that stuff away soon after you lost interest, didn't you?"

She placed her hand on his face and turned him to look at her, "Sesshoumaru, don't be angry with yourself. You're just trying to be as human as the rest of us. Take this as a lesson in life that not all things are given freely and not all things are kept easily by your own will and whim. You'll have to fight for what you want and keep fighting so that they'll never leave you."

Her hand felt so warm against his skin. He wanted to lean into it and never let go. Kagome… suddenly felt special to him.

* * *

_**  
The Talk  
**_

"What? Kagome? No, she's not dating anyone," Inuyasha shouted to him over a wet, soapy big dog who was trying to get away from him, "Wait, why're you asking me something like that?"

"None of your business whel-… it's nothing…" he told him and began walking away, "Thank you for the talk."

Just as he turned a corner, he overheard Inuyasha saying, "Did he just…thank me?"

* * *

_**  
The Book – Found  
**_

"Sesshoumaru, you didn't have to drive me home, you know. I could have taken the train…"

He had driven her home after another study session and they were now walking up the steps of the shrine to her house.

He shook his head, "Nonsense. If I am to tutor you, I am also in charge of your personal well-being while you are in my hands."

She shrugged at him, "Well, suit yourself, but don't complain tomorrow about failing your exam or something because you drove me home."

Reaching the door, Kagome knocked and it opened a few moments later, revealing Kagome's mother.

"Tadaima!" Kagome said to her mother.

"Oh, okaerinasai!" her mother replied back and turned to Sesshoumaru who bowed slightly in respect to her, "Sesshoumaru-kun, I'm sorry for bothering you with having to drive Kagome home, but thank you for doing so."

He shook his head, "No Higurashi-san, I don't mind driving her home at all. Since she has to come to our house to study, it is only fitting that I drive her home."

"Honestly, I've been telling her that she shouldn't take the trains home alone at night, but she won't listen to me!" her mother said.

"Mom!" Kagome groaned, "I'll be fine! I've been doing this since Inuyasha and I were kids in elementary school. I haven't been jumped or mugged yet so I'm perfectly safe!"

Her mother frowned, "Young lady, just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't."

Sesshoumaru decided to interrupt, "Higurashi-san, if you don't mind, I can bring her home after her study sessions. It was rude of me not to have enforced this at the beginning."

"Oh thank you Sesshoumaru-kun! It does a mother good to know that her daughter would be well cared for!"

Kagome rolled her eyes and walked into the house past her mother.

"Oh! By the way Kagome," her mother spoke up stopping her, "You remember that book that you lost several weeks ago? Well, it was in the living room where I told you to look. Didn't you see it?"

Kagome hesitated for a bit, but shook her head. She seemed… distressed…

Her mother, picking up her distress, turned away to look at Sesshoumaru, "W-well, it's been a long night and I'm sure you're tired Sesshoumaru-kun. Would you like to spend the night? It's late and perhaps driving home in the morning would be best for you."

Turning his gaze away from Kagome, he shook his head, "Thank you but I will have to decline your invitation. Perhaps another day. Have a good night Higurashi-san."

He bowed to her and turned around making his way back to his car.

That… was odd…

* * *

_**  
The Call  
**_

His phone was ringing and her name was on the screen. Although they had started talking (more like she was doing all the talking) over the phone, this was the first time she had called him…on a day that she had her study session with him.

Picking up the phone, he answered, "Kagome? What is it?"

There was silence over the phone.

"Kagome?"

"Um… Hey…" she hesitated.

He started to grow worried, "Is something wrong?"

"No! No, no, nothing's wrong… um… but… well… it's about today's lesson…"

Worry was growing into slight frustration due to her hesitation, "Can you not come today?"

"Yeah… Um… Well, you see… there's a doctor's appointment that I have to go to…"

He became confused. Doctor? Was she not feeling well?

"Are you ok, Kagome?" the worry came back in his voice.

"I'm fine! Nothing to worry about me! It's just…um… there's a doctor's appointment that I have to go to-with my mom! Yes, with my mom. It's for her. You know, old people and all, they have to go get their tetanus and rabies shots and other old people shots that they can only do with doctors you know… not do like _doing_ them, but do _stuff_ with their doctors…the good medicine stuff!"

He was starting to get the feeling that she was hiding something from him.

"What _is_ it, Kagome?" his voice was stern and growing impatient.

"W-well," she stammered, "Remember rule number three? About how I couldn't miss a day?"

Despite her obvious display of hesitation and keeping things from him, he calmed down realizing that she wanted the day off.

"Can you not come in today then?"

"No… am I in trouble?" she squeaked over the line.

He was silent, not sure how to respond, but he felt something odd, at the pit of his stomach rumbling and rising, all the way up to his lungs, his windpipes and finally out his mouth. He was… laughing.

"Sesshoumaru? Are you… laughing?" Kagome asked quietly.

He laughed and nodded into the phone. Honestly, his Kagome was such an idiot at times, but she was adorably funny in her own way.

After a couple of choked laughs, he managed to speak, "It's fine. If you can't come today, it's quite alright. Will you be free tomorrow?"

"Well… no. I won't be free the rest of the week until Sunday. Sorry, but can we use that day to pack in all the lessons that I'll miss?"

"Kagome, I don't like making adjustments to our schedule… but if you must…"

"Oh really!? Thanks Sesshoumaru! I'm sorry for all the trouble, but thanks so much! I'll be there on Sunday, bright and early and ready to learn!" she yelled happily into the phone.

When she hung up, he realized that he had just thought of Kagome as… _his_ Kagome…

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head…

* * *

_**  
The Talk - Take Two  
**_

"So… that's all the things that she likes, including amusement parks. Got all that?" Inuyasha told him as he slapped a heaping spoon of ice cream into a bowl for their little cousin Rin.

Sesshoumaru quickly scribbled the rest in as Inuyasha gave their cousin her bowl. She took it happily and began chowing down.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Can Rin come with Kagome-neechan and Sesshoumaru-sama too?" she asked through spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

"No Rin. Inuyasha has promised to take you to go see the Teletubbies movie that you wanted to see," he told her as he put the small notepad away.

"Aw come on! Teletubbies!? You've got to be kidding me!" Inuyasha moaned.

"You promised or the deal's off!" he threatened.

Inuyasha immediately perked up, "I love Teletubbies Rin! Who's your favorite Teletubby?"

She flashed a gap-toothed smile at him and began recounting on why she liked a certain colored Teletubby whom Sesshoumaru cared not to remember.

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru interrupted as Inuyasha began telling Rin why red was a more dominant color than purple, yellow or green, "I have to go run some errands. Don't feed Rin too much sugar or I will make sure you will regret it."

Inuyasha rose an eyebrow at him and waved him away, "Yeah yeah. Whatever."

As Sesshoumaru was heading to his room, he heard, "Hey Rin, you think white would be a good color for a new Teletubby?"

She giggled.

* * *

_**  
The Day Out – Take two  
**_

He found the both of them slumped down on a bench, tired from a whole day of thrill rides and eating all kinds of greasy and sweet foods that he would have never touched if not for the girl who loved eating them beside him. Although he wasn't someone who liked thrill rides, the smile on Kagome's face was worth it.

"How're you feeling?" she asked him when she noticed him looking at her, "you didn't look too good when we went on the high roller coaster."

He shook his head, trying to forget the embarrassment of riding on that particular ride, "I am fine."

She smiled at him, but suddenly her face contorted in pain and found her head in her hands in the next moment.

"Kagome! Are you alright?" Sesshoumaru asked her, worry edged in his voice and body.

"I'm… I'm fine," she managed to say out loud and turned to give him a weak, but slight smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, still worried.

She blinked several times and nodded.

He looked at her face to see if she was telling the truth, but seeing her light smile, he calmed down some, "Is…is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well… could you get me a cup of water?" she asked and he nodded, getting up to go buy one at one of the food vendors.

By the time he came back, he found Kagome on the ground facing the bench, searching for something frantically.

"Kagome? Did you drop something?"

She jumped, as if she had been caught doing something wrong, "Um, n-no…uh-yes… yeah… I kind of lost something…"

"What did you lose-" he began saying, but a slight crunch underneath his shoe stopped him.

He stepped back and leaned down to grab it. It was a small, rounded white container with a clear lid that showed small round tablets inside of it.

"Is this it?" he asked and Kagome turned on her knees to him.

"Oh! You found it!" she exclaimed happily and reached forward. "Thanks!"

However, her reach was short and she fell on her face.

"Kagome, why are you acting like this?" Sesshoumaru asked as he helped her to her feet.

She took back her container and laughed hesitantly, "Because I'm funny?"

Sesshoumaru sighed at her attempt to cover up and led her back to the bench. Once sat, he asked her what she wanted to do next.

"I…want to rest for a bit," she told him.

Se looked really tired and fatigued. He started to feel bad. Although, he had wanted to spend the whole day with her, she was probably feeling tired and wanted to hide it from him to keep him from feeling this way. Perhaps he would have to bring her home then.

"Do you want to go back home?"

She shook her head and suddenly laid out on the bench with her head in his lap.

"This works just fine for me…" she mumbled and fell asleep not too soon after.

He looked at her sleeping face and had the sudden urge to kiss her, but refrained from doing so. Instead, he found his hand stroking through her hair and caressing her face. As she rested, he thought about their day up to her weird little episode after he went to go get water. It was only then that he realized that she hadn't been looking at him that whole time.

* * *

_**  
The Talk – Take Three  
**_

"Inuyasha, has Kagome ever… done strange things around you?"

Inuyasha looked at his brother as if he had grown a second head, "What?"

The older brother glared at his younger brother.

He rose his hands in the air, "Ok ok, not a joke, I get it."

Crossing his arms, he thought about it for a bit, but shook his head.

"Aside from Kagome weird…well, not really. It depends on what kind of weird you're talking about… What kind of weird _are_ you talking about?"

Sesshoumaru sighed in futility and shook his head, "Never mind. It's nothing."

He walked off. Inuyasha said nothing this time.

* * *

_**  
The Promise  
**_

Despite the odd behavior she had exhibited at the amusement park, Kagome had returned to her usual spunky self the next time he saw her at their usual study sessions. Seeing as to how Kagome seemed fine, he decided to forget the weird incident and continue the rest of their study sessions finishing what needed to be completed. On their last study day, they took the day to review everything that she had learned during their study sessions as well as from school.

"I think you're going to do fine on the exams Kagome. You learned the material very quickly and you've improved since the first day," Sesshoumaru told her.

She beamed with pride and hugged him, "That's because I had a fantastic tutor!"

It was the first time she had hugged him and he felt… happy… that and the fact that he felt like there were (and he quotes Rin) "butterflies in his tummy." Kagome had been his finest student, well, his only student, but he was proud of her...and falling in love with her. Oh he knew that he was falling for her, and although he wanted to tell her that he did, but he had never told anyone that he loved them before, least of all his ex-girlfriends. He wanted to tell her, but it would have to wait, at least, until after her exams where the burden wouldn't be so much.

Yet despite his internal promise to himself that he wouldn't tell her until after the exams, he found himself pressing his mouth against hers. One hand found itself entangled in her hair and the other wrapped tightly around her. He could feel the heat of their bodies through their clothes, the smell of her, the feel of her breasts pushed against him and the softness of her lips.

_Wait… what am I doing?_ he thought to himself.

Just as he realized what he was doing, Kagome's arms tightened before he could pull away. She leaned into the kiss and pushed herself closer against him. Just as she opened her mouth, he dove his tongue in and began caressing every crevice and corner of her mouth, diving deeper as he laid her down on the table.

The next minute, he found her flushed, panting for air with hair tousled and clothes in disarray. Perhaps he looked the same way, but as she was wedged between him and a hard place, he was hard and wedged between her legs. Smiling at him, she leaned up to kiss him on the lips once more. He met her halfway and pushed her back down on the table as both their hands sought out the buttons and zippers to their clothes. He felt an urgency with her like had never had before and it would have to start by having their clothes off each other.

Knock knock!

Unfortunately, that urgency would have to wait… or did it?

Kagome looked to the door, but Sesshoumaru kissed her back down and began trailing kisses down to her neck.

"Um… we should probably get that…" she managed to gasped out through her growing haze of desire.

"Hn…"

He ignored another set of knock knocks as he began sucking on the side of her throat while still unbuttoning her shirt.

"Sessh-"

"Shh…"

"But we should really-"

He shut her up with another mind-blowing kiss.

Knock! Knock!

Why wasn't the knocker leaving yet? Shouldn't the person have realized that they didn't want to be interrupted?

"Um… hello?" came a small girl's voice from behind the door, "Uncle Inutaisho said that its time for dinner."

"It's-it's Rin! Sesshou-it's Rin! Get off me-get off-we need to-oh get off!" Kagome told him as she tried to pry him away from her throat, possibly in trying to give her a hickey.

He reluctantly gave in and pulled away as Kagome quickly button up her shirt to hide her pink lacy bra, much to Sesshoumaru's disappointment. She looked down and noticed that he hadn't bothered to zip up his pants.

"Are you going to zip that up or not?" she said pointing down.

He smirked at her, "Well, it's kind of hard down there. Want to take care of it for me?"

Kagome slapped him on the shoulder, "You pervert! Leave the dirty jokes for some other day!"

Sighing in defeat, Sesshoumaru pulled up his zipper as Kagome walked over to the door and to see to Rin. She banged her hand on the doorknob, but shouted a "I'm alright!" causing Sesshoumaru to chuckle.

After zipping and buttoning up, he turned to her, "Kagome?"

She turned around to face him once she shooed Rin away, "Yeah?"

"I'm… coming to your graduation, is that alright with you?"

She froze for a second as if she were hesitating and he felt hurt. Did she not want him to be there?

Then her face melted into a warm smile and she threw her arms around him, "Better get front row seats then. I want to see you when I walk down that stage to get my diploma!"

"It's a promise," he smirked and kissed her.

* * *

_**  
The No-Show  
**_

He was dressed in his best suit and had sat uncomfortably through the whole speech given by the principal as well as watching the students getting their diploma, his brother included, but he did not see her. He had been hoping that she was late or-or something!... but now, he was in the courtyard taking pictures with his family for Inuyasha's graduation pictures and ignoring the googly eyes that the high school girls and older, married women were making at him. His thoughts were on her. Where was she?

When his parents were busy chatting with some other parents, he walked right up to Inuyasha, who was talking to his group of friends, and pulled him aside.

"Where's Kagome?" he asked forcibly, "Why isn't she here?"

Inuyasha looked at him angrily at first, but then it began to fade as realization and sadness reached his eyes, confusing Sesshoumaru even more.

"Oh… She didn't tell you, did she?"

He had seen her a few more times after she had passed the exams and he had brought her to his apartment for a private and pleasurable celebration for her, but she had said nothing to him then. The look on Inuyasha's face told him enough to know that she had in fact, been hiding something from him.

"Tell me, where is she?"

* * *

_**  
The Confession  
**_

"Her mother's been with her all day, but I gave her a call saying that you'd be here so she left a while ago. I was planning on seeing her today, but since you're gonna be here, I guess you can give her diploma to her," Inuyasha told him as he handed him her diploma.

Now, they were at the hospital where Kagome was staying at. His brother and he were standing in front of the door to her room with a bouquet of flowers in hand and a diploma in the other.

"Hey…" Inuyasha began as Sesshoumaru began turning to the door, but stopped, "I'm… I'm really grateful for all that you've done. I've never seen Kagome happier since she's been with you. When she told me about this, she was depressed… and sad a lot, but you… you made her happier than she could ever be and… well… thanks bro. Thanks a lot."

He could see his younger brother's eyes well up with water, but he wasn't close to his brother enough to deal with his tears… but still, if it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't even be talking to his brother right now.

Sesshoumaru put a hand on his shoulder, "No. Thank you… for being her friend."

Inuyasha let out a heavy breath though his nose and nodded, "Yeah… Now go on before I cry in front of you. I don't want you to use this as blackmail in the future."

He smirked and turned to the door. Placing his hand on the door knob, he opened it and entered. He was greeted with a white room, completely empty save for a few chairs and small tables, some paintings on the wall and a bed. On the bed was a sleeping Kagome… his Kagome. Although he wanted to run to her and hug and kiss her, he was afraid… but of what?

The door closed behind him, probably done by Inuyasha. Breathing in deeply, he clutched tightly onto the bouquet and diploma, and slowly walked to her bedside where a chair was. He placed the flowers and the diploma on a table and slowly sat down, trying not to wake her.

He watched her as her chest slowly rose and fell. A bandage had been wrapped around her eyes, obstructing his view of her beautiful hazel blue eyes that he had grown to love. Her soft lips were slightly parted and he wanted to kiss her, but held back from doing so. Her hair was thrown all over the pillow, but a small strand of hair caught his attention as it lingered innocently over her face. Leaning forward, he moved it aside, but instead of pulling back, he rested his palm over her cheek. She was like a sleeping princess in the fairy tales…and he, like a prince, leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

He felt her shift and moan. Pulling back, he sat in the chair and watched as she began to wake. She stretched and moved to sit up. Her long length of hair fell down her back gently and some to her front. In the light of the setting sun through the closed windows, she looked so… beautiful.

He felt something run down his cheeks and realized that he was crying. It was shameful, someone like him crying. If Kagome saw him like this, she would probably be laughing.

Although he didn't want to let her know that he was there, he took an unconscious sniff due to the tears, alerting Kagome that there was someone near her.

"Who's there?" she asked gently, "…Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru could not answer as he held back a sob. Clenching his teeth together he looked away as the tears streamed down faster. He did not want her to see him like this…

She hesitated a bit, but moved towards him, holding her hands out to touch him. He froze, but relaxed at the feel of her gentle hands.

First, her hands touched his hair, caressing it as she moved lower. Then she felt his forehead, tracing it down to his eyebrows, his eyes, then his nose. He felt the pads of her fingers tracing his mouth, his chin and his jawline. His hands clenched into fists as she took his face into the warm palms of her hands and smiled.

"Sesshoumaru…"

He didn't know what to say, but he knew that he wanted to hold her, touch her and never let her go. He dove forward and found his arms wrapped around her waist as she tucked his head beneath her chin. In his current position, it would seem that he was the one who was being comforted instead of her.

"I love you," he whispered. He had been waiting to say it for a long time now.

He felt her shift and smile into his hair, "I love you too."

* * *

I was researching some stuff that could leaddd blindess, but gave up in using one cause I'm stupid when it comes to research. Anywho, this is perhaps my longest oneshot to date and my sis suggested I break it up. but I dunno, it doesn't look like it should be broken up, but that's just me. Oh well. Thanks for reading!


	8. For The Sleeping Prince

Hey, its been awhile hasn't it? Yes, I'm still alive and no, I haven't updated any other story yet. Still in the works and I am not satisfied with Snow Pearl's next chapters and editing. We'll just have to wait until I am or when I just get tired of trying to make it look good. Anyway, this'll be all for now. Enjoy!

* * *

**Waiting: _For the Sleeping Prince_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** R**

* * *

You are MINE!

She stopped in her tracks and looked around. Trees surrounded her in silence, leaves slightly rusting in the breeze. Snow covered the forest floor, marred only in places where her footsteps were and where large overturn roots surfaced. Warm breaths of air escaped her lips in puffs of smoke. After a few moments, she sighed and continued on with the two rabbits she had recently caught in her gloved hands

Even after for so long, his words continued to haunt her to this very day. Closing her eyes, she remembered that bloodstained face of his, his glowing amber eyes and the fangs that were bared at her refusal of him. Before, she had not known about his feelings, merely taking them for what she believed that they were; feelings of obsession and possession.

A strong breeze blew through and she shivered in the cold. Small bits of snow from the trees flew down around her. She had cowered before him at the beginning, with knees buckling and her whole body trembling at the mere sight of him. He had once, been something of a nightmare to her and oh, had she feared him! His brother Inuyasha, a hanyou and her first love, had crossed swords with him from time and time again due to the sword that Inuyasha held, the Tetsusaiga. Their father had created the Tetsusaiga for protection, in which was given to Inuyasha and the Tenseiga for revival, for the elder brother. However, jealous that Inuyasha was given the stronger of the two swords, Sesshoumaru sought to kill his half brother to obtain the sword which he deemed was rightfully his.

She coughed as the cold air made her throat dry. She was thirsty. Setting her two rabbits down, she took off a glove and grabbed a handful of white snow in one hand. It was freezing to the touch, but she could feel the snow begin to melt in the palm of her hand. She crushed it into a clump of snow and threw it into her mouth. The chill set in and she lightly rolled it around in her mouth as it melted. All she needed now was strawberries and chocolate syrup and then she'd have an almost complete ice cream sundae. Oh, how she missed eating ice cream!

She wasn't from here originally, or at least, she hadn't been born yet anyway. Once upon a time, she had lived 500 years in the future, but a trip down the old well by her grandfather's shrine and a centipede youkai ripping the powerful Shikon no Tama from her hip had led her to her present situation. It was here where she found Inuyasha pinned to the Goshinboku tree, met with her friends Sango and Miroku and befriended a small kitsune youkai named Shippo. However, she also met some terrifying youkai bent on taking the Shikon shards from her as well as Naraku, one of the most formidable enemies that they had made.

Naraku was as much a thorn in their sides as they were to him. Manipulation, murder, slaughter, you name it. He was capable of it all and had been the bane of everyone's existence, as his main goal was to take the whole of the Shikon no Tama and wish himself into a full youkai. Naraku was only a hanyou, created from the merging of youkai with the half dead body of a bandit who had been madly in love with Kikyo, Inuyasha's former love. It had been long, but in the end, they had defeated him, with a price.

Tears formed in her eyes, but she wiped them away as snow began to fall. Reminiscing about the past and her home in the future always made her heart ache, even if the memories happened to be happy ones. The fact was, all she had left were memories. With Naraku gone and the Shikon no Tama finally out of existence, at least physically anyway, she had also been barred from returning home. So, in an effort to continue living in the present time, she decided to take up becoming a miko under Kaede and marry Inuyasha. However, not long after their wedding, Inuyasha had gone out to take care of some boar youkai who wandering around the area and causing havoc… He had not returned for days. Worried, Miroku and some villagers set out to find him… and returned with Inuyasha lifeless and bloodstained body.

Kagome choked back a sad hiccup. She breathed in deeply and felt the chill of the air enter her lungs. Slowly, she let it out and counted slowly to ten. It would not do if Rin were to see her coming home in tears. Wiping away a stray tear, she looked up and was able to see the hut in sight with smoke coming out from the top. Had Rin come back from Kaede's? The little gap toothed girl who loved to pick flowers and make flower halos out of them was now in training to be the next miko of the village, after Kaede. It had been Kagome's original plan to become the next miko, however, other things got in the way.

With Inuyasha's death, Kagome became depressed and forewent the rest of her miko training with Kaede, instead, she was being taken care of by the elderly woman, Shippo and her friends Sango and Miroku. A few months afterwards, she finally pulled herself out of her depressed state and began to live again, but that was abruptly halted by the arrival of Sesshoumaru and his proposal.

To say that she was dumbstruck wasn't even the half of it. Ningen-hating and all-powerful Lord of the West, Sesshoumaru, the hated elder half-brother to her late husband Inuyasha, had proposed-or rather, was forcing marriage on her, a ningen and his half-brother's widow. It was within youkai law for the next in kin to take responsibility of his deceased brother's wife by marrying her or marrying her off another male in the family. It was awkward, to say the least, that Sesshoumaru would, of all times, finally act like the older brother that he had never been to Inuyasha… she promptly refused him though. However, with Sesshoumaru, she should have known that he would never take no as an answer.

Without word, he took her by surprise and against her will to his home in the west and forced her to his wife, or in youkai terms, his mate. Neither had liked the other very much at first. He forced her into his bed, he forced her to learn to be a Lady of the house and he forced her to attend places with him where she never wanted to be. Kagome continued disliking him, but Sesshoumaru developed an interest in her. She never could understand why the youkai began to even "like" her, however, as he began to, she realized that she was comfortable with him around, but the word love never crossed her mind. She never knew if he loved her, but he loved her body passionately, like starved man, every night when they were alone in their private chambers, and she guiltily enjoyed every moment of his touch. Regrettably, she would learn of Sesshoumaru's "love" for her, and to what extent it could be pushed until it took the form of a raging, possessive love where it drove him crazy with jealousy.

At the invitation of one of the cardinal lords in which Sesshoumaru forced her to come along, she met the lord's son, a young youkai, named Kouichi, whose personality was every bit like Inuyasha in almost every way except that he was gentler and charmed her. Mad with jealously at the attention Kagome gave to the boy the whole evening, upon returning to the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru threw her into their chambers and took her violently all night long. She had never bled and screamed so much in her life.

From then on, Sesshoumaru forbade her from attending parties or greeting guests. Every night, he showed her just how much every inch of her body and mind belonged to him. Sometimes, she reveled in the passion he exuded in every caress and the feel of this thickness sliding within her, but sometimes, she cried for forgiveness when he made her bleed in between violent thrusts because she had laughed with one of the male guards or servants. No longer able to endure his jealous love, she fled… and was caught by Kouichi. Sadly, the youkai who had charmed her now meant to use her as a means to take over the Western Lands, because he found out who she was, the Shikon no Miko. Everything went downhill soon after.

Closing the door behind her, Kagome shook off all the snow and removed her outer layers to hang up. She walked over to where the knives were and move to the center of the room, where the fire was, to start cleaning the rabbits. This way, she could stay warm as well. The fire burned on healthily, and to the side of it was a pot of recently cooked rice. Rin had been by.

"Rin…" she smiled.

No matter how many times she told the girl that she didn't have to come by so much, her words went unheard. Honestly, she had miko training and duties to fulfill, but whenever she had free time, she always stopped by or slept over. Despite it all, she was always happy to have Rin over. The girl would always talk nonstop about what was happening in the village and how her training was going. She'd ask Kagome for advice when it came boys or miko training. Sometimes, they would talk about the past, but they never dwelled on the subject for long because Rin would always switch the subject as she was mindful of Kagome's feelings… and because the other occupant in the room who was sleeping.

Kagome sighed and finished cleaning the rabbits. Grabbing a pot, she went outside to gather some snow and came back in to put it over the fire. She would make soup, just as she had always done for the past five years.

Five years… it had been five years since he had fallen into his sleeping state. Never would she have thought to see herself in a hut at the edge of Inuyasha's Forest with her sleeping occupant. More than ten years ago, she had dreamed of starting a life with Inuyasha in the village. Several years later, she found herself living with Sesshoumaru in his castle in the Western Lands as his mate. Not long after, she found herself isolated in a mansion with little company as Sesshoumaru started his campaign to rid Japan of its youkai lords and stronger youkai.

She had not known what had happened during her seclusion from the world. She had lived day by day, not knowing where Sesshoumaru was or what he was doing. After Kouichi had taken her, Sesshoumaru and his army swarmed the cardinal lord's castle in a matter of days and wiped out all his family and those strong and loyal to the lord. He left Kouichi to die last so that he could see everything taken from him. Sesshoumaru then proceeded to fuck Kagome over Kouichi's corpse. The memory of having Sesshoumaru pound into her while trying to look away from Kouichi's bloody and lifeless body was disturbing. However, it was his mouth, open and set into a silent cry, and lifeless eyes that haunted that moment forever for her.

Soon after, Sesshoumaru plopped her down into his secluded mansion and told her that he would kill everyone who could try to take her so that she wouldn't have anyone or anywhere to run to. After another long night of exhaustingly painful sex, he was gone and she did not see him for three years. Being in the mansion had been lonely and depressing, but only Rin was the one who made the days pass by quick. He finally appeared one day and took them back to his castle. She remembered crying on the journey back to the castle, not because of Sesshoumaru, but because everywhere she looked, she saw devastation and destruction. Rotting dead bodies were lying open on the roads, the smell of fire was apparent almost everywhere and the presence of youkai had declined considerably. Sesshoumaru had made an enemy out of all the youkai in Japan and had, mostly, succeeded in wiping them out.

Guilt ate at her everyday when she heard the servants gossip about the famine and deaths that had spread throughout the land due to Sesshoumaru's campaign. It was her fault. It was because of her existence that this had happened, as the Shikon no Miko… and as Sesshoumaru's obsession. She had to get out, she had to leave before anymore destruction took place. Finally, one day, when Sesshoumaru was out to deal with some rebellious bear youkai on his lands, Kagome feigned sickness and ordered the servants not to disturb her until Sesshoumaru came home. She then concealed her miko powers and slipped out, unnoticed by all, and raced all the way to the well, hoping against hope that it would grant her one last final wish to allow her passage back to her time. This was the only idea she could come up with because running to her friends was not an option as Sesshoumaru would just kill them. If the well didn't work, she would take her life then and there.

However, Sesshoumaru caught wind of her escape and immediately came after her once his had dealt with the bear youkai. She had come close to the well when she was attacked by ningen magic users. They captured her, intending to use her as bait to lure in Sesshoumaru. Due to his campaign, not only were youkai involved, but thousands of ningens had been caught in it as well. Those who sought revenge for their loved ones called for all magic users: sorcerers, mikos and the like, to answer their call for Sesshoumaru's death.

It had been a mistake to have tried to escape Sesshoumaru. Even though he had caused a war and killed thousands due to it, she did not want him to die because she realized then that she loved him. She knew this the moment he came bursting through the trees and was caught in the magic users' spell. She watched in tears as electrical energy crackled and flashed before her eyes, pulling Sesshoumaru back away from her. No matter how many steps he took towards her, arm reaching for her, or the invisible hits from the spell that caused his blood to pour out from his wounds, he still tried to come for her.. She shouted at him to stop, but her words went unheeded as he began crawling towards her, bloody and about to die.

Not able to hold back anymore, she screamed. Just then something broke inside of her and an large explosion of light engulfed everything around her. She heard screams of pain that were immediately silenced and felt the ground break and trees disintegrate around her. Just as it had come, the strange power she had called forth was gone and she blacked out.

The soup was beginning to boil over and she took it out from the fire. She poured some into a bowl and blew at it to cool in down. Once it had cooled, she brought it over to the sleeping occupant in the curtained corner. Pulling back the curtains, she kneeled down next to him. She slipped an arm underneath him, pulled him up slightly and brought the bowl to his lips. Tilting the bowl ever so slightly, she watched as the liquid went into his mouth, some of it streamed down the edge of his lips. She set the bowl down and using the edge of her sleeve, she wiped his mouth and then continued to feed him the liquid. When the bowl was empty, she set it aside and looked down at his sleeping face.

His skin was pale, as it usually was. A blue crescent moon graced his forehead, a sign of what he once was, royalty. Her fingers moved to trace two stripes on both of his cheeks, stripes that would become jagged whenever he was extremely angry or would turn into his beast form. Her fingers traced over his soft lips, lips which once passionately kissed her. She paused for a moment, then moved down to press her own lips against his. His lips were warm and tasted a bit like the soup she had just fed him, but were unmoving. She let her lips linger on his for several moments before she pulled away as tears slid down her face.

"Please wake up…" she pleaded to him, "please…"

She wiped her tears away, but still they came.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Sesshoumaru… please wake up…" she whispered to him.

After what had happened in the forest, she woke up to find herself in Kaede's hut. Kaede explained to her that half a year had passed when they found her in the forest. Once the light had disappeared, Miroku, Shippo and the villagers had gone to investigate what had happened. When they arrived, a large section of the forest had disappeared, as if something had come and carved a huge chunk of land right out from the ground. There, they found Kagome's unconscious form and Sesshoumaru's bloody and battered body. Miroku, upon recognizing who the youkai lord was and that he was still alive, told the villagers to carry his body, as well as Kagome's, back to the village so that Kaede could take care of them. Since then, Kaede and Sango had taken care of them.

However, within that time that they wereboth were unconscious, Sesshoumaru's lands fell prey to youkai who wanted revenge. They killed all his people and destroyed his lands. Jaken had was near death as he arrived at the village with an unconscious Rin on Ah Un's back, who was mortally wounded as well. The loyal retainer proceeded to explain to the villagers about the lost of the Western Lands due to its Lord's absence. After finishing his story, the toa youkai passed away with his last words being that the villagers take care of his lord's ward. Rin woke up several days afterwards. Ah Un lasted two months before his wounds finally took him.

After waking, she had cried for days and apologized greatly to Rin and Sesshoumaru's still sleeping self. Kaede did not know what was wrong with him. The spells that the magic users had casted on him were meant to kill him, but he was still alive, but unconscious. For how long, she did not know. Rin forgave her, though she did not understand why Kagome had apologized to her, but she did not want to hear the reasons why. After winter passed and spring came, Kagome had finally gotten out from her depressive slump and asked to move out as she did not want to abuse Kaede's hospitality any longer.

The villagers, as well as Miroku, Sango and Shippo, fixed up a hut just outside the village for her and she thanked them graciously for it. Shippo had wanted to move in with her because Rin had moved in with Kagome as well. Miroku and Sango were against it as they thought it was best that he not disturb the three. So, in the end, he stayed, but visited them often. Rin stayed with Kagome until both she and Kaede agreed that she would have to stay in the village to learn the duties of a miko.

Kaede had seen potential in Rin and though she had asked Kagome if she had wanted to finish her training and take up the duties of a miko, Kagome turned her down. Both then decided, along with Rin's wish to become one, that she could live with Kaede as it would be better for her to learn in a closer environment. Although she would no longer become a miko officially, Kagome still assisted in miko duties when the other two had their hands full. When not farming, helping the village or guarding it against wandering youkai and bandits with Miroku, Sango and Shippo, she took care of Sesshoumaru, who remained blissfully sleeping as if the world did not exist.

Kagome wiped away the last of her tears and climbed into the futon with Sesshoumaru. At the beginning, she had shared a futon with Rin, but they would always wake up to find Sesshoumaru's body cold. After a while, Kagome decided to sleep with Sesshoumaru to keep him warm, and Rin slept in her own futon. Every now and then, she would slip in with Kagome and Sesshoumaru, but for the most part, she grew accustomed to sleeping by herself. Also, Sango had told her that she shouldn't spoil Rin too much as the girl was growing older and had to understand that she it wouldn't be wise for her to sleep with any man unless if it was her husband.

Kagome spied Rin's rolled futon in the opposite corner of the room. She had left it behind when she went to live with Kaede so that whenever she was over, she would sleep in it. Although she had planned to sleep over for tonight, she probably wasn't going to make it due to the coming snow. She snuggled in closer to Sesshoumaru's laying form and counted his every breath. A stray strand of silver hair had flown over his face and she smoothed it away from his face. Tracing over his stripes, she stared at his sleeping face for a long time before she began feeling sleepy. Entwining her fingers through his, she kissed his lips one last time and laid down comfortably next to him.

Despite all that had happened in the past, all the pain and suffering, she had somehow grown to love his man. He was still fearsome and though he had hurt her, she would, without a doubt, still love this youkai. Yet due to her idiocy, it almost cost him his life. Now, he was like a sleeping prince, stuck in a death-like trance in which no one knew how to break or when he would wake. From now on, she would spend the rest of her days waiting, hoping for him to open his eyes and come back to her. Though she had hated it before, she knew now that she was entirely his, just as he was to her.

"I love you," she whispered to him and fell asleep not too long after.

The fire continued burning all through the night, soup forgotten and growing cold. The snow continued to fall silently outside the hut which housed its two sleeping residents. Unbeknownst to the sleeping female, the hand around hers tightened slightly.

* * *

I realized towards the end as I was writing this that Kagome's basically contemplating the whole thing... huh... oh well.

Ah, I usually suggest stories for you guys to read, but this time, I'm going to suggest a manhwa. The manhwa's called Nabi, meaning "Butterfly" or oddly enough, "I am rain." It's a story about two orphans, Myo-Un and Ryu-Sang, who live at a temple with other orphans, however, their quiet lives are ruined when assassins come to kill someone at the temple who is the last surviving heir to a powerful family in another country. Fleeing from the assassins, Myo-Un and Ryu-Sang's journey begins... One thing about this manhwa, its got an unbelievably long and slow moving beginning for the first four or so volumes, but it picks up so you'll have to have LOTS of patience while reading it as there are many questions that also arise as you read. Still, it's got a good story so far and the artwork is really flow-y and pretty.

However, you can only read this manhwa at Sura's (the scanlater and website owner) website JanimeS at and you have to register to be able to read what she's scanlated. There's some other manhwas/mangas that she's scanlated as well and they're pretty good too. Anyway, laters!


	9. For the Dawn to Arrive

Hey all, long time no see! I've been crazy busy since my last chapter with final classes and everything, especially my senior paper in order for me to graduate. Although I'm "graduated" from college, I'm not offically done cause I've still gotta work on my senior paper with my craptacular professor who I hate with a passion and who hates me just as much. Anyway, instead of working on it and finding a job, I'm writing again! Yes, I will write again... well... maybe just small bits like these until I get my stupid paper done and get a passing grade to officially be done. *shakes fist furiously at stupid professor and college*

Oh, btw, thanks to all who nominated and voted for "For the Sleeping Prince" for Best Oneshot in the first quarter at Dokuga. It didn't win, but hey, at least its good to know that people really enjoy my stories, and that's all that really matters to me!

Anyway, next oneshot... It's been a while since I've written a lemon and to tell you the truth, I think I'm kinda outta of it. Writing a lemon is hard, for me and just in general so I give props to the lemon writers out there! This is just PWP, so don't expect much from it... Okay, now to the oneshot. Enjoy!

* * *

**Waiting: _For the Dawn to Arrive_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** R**

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**

She could barely breathe.

Between choked breaths and the intense heated sensations rippling through her body, remembering to breathe was difficult. The reason being? The taiyoukai who was feverishly thrusting into her between her legs like starved man. She was desperately waiting for dawn to come, then maybe all this would be over.

She felt her hold on his arms loosen and quickly dug her nails into his skin lest she let go and dangle like a limp puppet in his arms. The taiyoukai growled and fucked her harder, finding the slight pain pleasurable. He held her in the air, holding her upright firmly around her waist and controlled her movements up and down his hard member. Her legs came to cross behind his back as another safety guard in case she should fall. Both their pants came harder and faster as his speed increased.

She found herself thirsty constantly, and she had to lean forward and lick the sweat from his neck to quench her thirst. The feel of his hot and sweaty skin tasted divine in her mouth, though she was loathed to admit. It was salty and somewhat sweet. However, it was the feel of his thick and hot skin against her tongue that she delighted in the most, and a purr from Sesshoumaru showed that he obviously enjoyed it.

Breathing became more complicated as his thrusts were jarring and sharp. Halfway through a pant, Sesshoumaru thrusted roughly into her, cutting off her air for a split second as she relished in the pleasure and shame of letting Inuyasha's half brother do her in, literally. She then remembered to breathe when her head began swimming and flashes of light swam before her eyes. Her heart was beating fast and she was almost afraid she would get a heart attack. Could one die from having too much sex?

It was also much too hot for her, which was odd as the night air was chilly and neither of them were wearing any clothes at all! More than once, she had almost blacked out, but a sharp bite from Sesshoumaru brought her back to intense pleasure and the pumping of Sesshoumaru's large cock into her womb. Too tired of looking shamefully at the taiyoukai who held her in a tight grip and brought onto her such pleasure and pain, she let her gaze look up towards the stars in the dark sky. It was easier to look at and took less effort than raising her head to shout between thrusts at Sesshoumaru to let her go.

_Squish! Squish!_

The sounds of their juices against their slapping flesh made Kagome come again that night. She squeezed her eyes shut as his cock continued pumping into her, never stopping. She could feel her cum dripped down both of their thighs. Her orgasm only served to make his cock fill her more and his clawed hands on her tighten, making the bruises around her waist hurt more.

As she came off her high, she almost fainted again. However, as her hands began to slip away from his muscled shoulders, she felt him lean forward and bite sharply into her sweat soaked shoulder, forcing her back into the night world full of Sesshoumaru.

Just as she began to take in a breath of air, Sesshoumaru slid one of his clawed hands up her sweaty back and crushed her to his body. She came again as her sensitive and erect nipples brushed against his sweaty, hard and muscular front. His body was hot, almost scorching. He held her impossibly closer as his lower body never ceased in fucking her. The hand on her back slipped up into her hair and firmly grasped it. There was a flash of silver before her eyes were filled with his red eyes, and he slammed his lips down on hers for a kiss full of lust and abandonment.

His moist tongue slipped in and sought out every crevice within her hot mouth. She could barely breathe through her nose; he was only making it harder for her by kissing her. Her hands tried pushing herself away from his still moving body, but he took it as a sign of defiance and crushed his lips down harder on her as punishment. A fang pricked at the corner of her mouth and the coppery taste of her blood soon filled both their mouths.

She needed to breathe! Her hands began beating her fists away at his back as his lower body continued making short rough and sharp thrusts between her legs. He continued ravishing her mouth as she fought desperately for air. She could hear the rapid beating of her heart and the blood rushing in her ears. It was insanely possible that she was going to pass out and maybe not wake up this time around if he didn't let her breathe!

Suddenly, he broke their kiss and she took in a large breath of air, and coughed for a while before she could begin breathing as normally as she could. He leaned in and licked away at the blood until it healed from Sesshoumaru's healing saliva. Purring, he licked a trail from her mouth to the junction between her neck and shoulder, and laved away at her skin there. It was then that his thrusts became slower and gentler. Kagome's breathing was less frantic and more elongated, but stuttering. His hand on her head moved down to the middle of her back and her hands resumed their hold on his shoulders.

Kagome looked down to see what he was intending to do before she felt the warm wetness of Sesshoumaru's mouth closed around a nipple. She moaned as he suckled and licked it. The hand moved slowly down her back, caressing her wet and soft skin before sliding to the front to fondle her breast. Her grip tightened in case he dropped her. When his fingers rubbed and pinched her nipple, she yowled and accidentally shoved herself down roughly on his demon cock. He chuckled and switched sides, now suckling the other one and his other hand squeezing and playing with the now reddening breast.

_Squish! Squish!_

Kagome had long lost the fight against Sesshoumaru. She had not wanted his passionate attention in the first place and had never expected to find herself in this situation, but the fact that her thighs felt sore and were just soaked with both their cum was a different story. He had laid claim to her many times this night, in so many different positions and made her cum so many times that she had lost count. Dawn was a ways off and she had the feeling that by the time Sesshoumaru came again, he would not stop there.

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru stopped his ministrations, making her gasped at the frozen movement. The next thing she knew, she was lying on her back with a furiously fucking taiyoukai thrusting away rapidly into her. In and out. In and out.

_Squishsquishsquishsquish_!

She panted with every thrust, curled her toes at the deep ones and came a little bit every time she heard him grunt against her. She then felt it, she was going to come. Sesshoumaru felt it too and pushed her legs further apart as he leaned in and gave her a soul-searing kiss, full of fang and tongue. He gripped onto her hips tightly and pummeled at such an incredible speed that Kagome swore that he was going at light speed.

He was going to come with her. His grunts became louder and Kagome saw lights flash before her. It was only a matter of moments before-!

The dam within her broke loose and she came hard and screamed into Sesshoumaru's mouth. He continued to thrust frantically into her as she came.

_Thrust! Thrust! Thrust_!

His lips broke away from hers as he shoved himself all the way into her and let loose a thunderous howl just as his seed came out in a mad rush and filled her womb to the brim. It was warm and spilled out from where they were joined. Both waited out Sesshoumaru's long spill into her, learning from their earlier fucking that Sesshoumaru could come a lot, and from the look of things, enough to spare till dawn, maybe even later.

He stared down at her with golden eyes, intense and passionate. Her hand went to her left breast, as if to still the rapid beating of her heart and quell her panting for air. Just when she had thought that he was finally done, he thrusted a couple of times with his now deflating member so that he could drag out the rest of his cum into her. For some reason, he always came inside her and made sure that every drop made it inside before it would spill out. It was as if, he was intent on making her pregnant.

He slowly slipped out of her and slowly closed her eyes as she felt sleep coming to claim her. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she felt Sesshoumaru lean in between her legs and began kissing her. She moaned sleepily and whimpered. She placed her hands on his chest to push him away and let her sleep, but Sesshoumaru was undeterred and continued his assault on her mouth, now ravishing her lips.

She made sounds of defiance and it stirred Sesshoumaru's beast, as well as his libido. It was when he broke away from her that she opened her eyes and saw his golden eyes begin to bleed to red. Taking the hand laying on her breast, he dragged it down her body until it lift slightly and she felt him wrap her hand around something wet and hard. Her eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat when the realization hit her. He was ready for another round!

She whimpered pathetically and begged him no. A tear slid down her cheek and he leaned down to lick it. When he leaned back, he gave her an evil and sexy smirk. If that wasn't enough of a response, having her stroke his hard cock, now dripping with precum, was enough to tell her of his intentions. She cried inwardly as he leaned down and kissed her passionately.

Dawn never came quickly enough.

* * *

It was kinda fun, just senseless PWP. I think I may continue this one later on, what happens to Kags throughout the night or something or other... Though I have to admit, it looked a lot better in my head than me trying to type it down.

Now for a read recommendation. Drumroll please! !... Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams! Yep, a non-fanfic story! I happened to be reading it when I took a trip to see some friends in Cali and it was a fun read, just had to recommend it. The movie is just as funny, if not, funnier. The difference between the two is that the movie doesn't really follow the book all that much, and the book seems more witty funny whereas the movie is just plain funny. However, I don't really recommend the second book and on. The humor got a little dull and I ended up being disappointed and thoroughly unsatisfied at the end of the fifth book, but meh, oh well. You might like it, you might not. It's up to you, but for sure, go for the first book!

Alright, till then, laters all!


	10. Humilation

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around. I'm in a bit of a disastrous jam at the moment (with more to come) so I'm not sure about getting to my fanfics any time soon as I'm out of ideas on how to continue them. I have the stories set, just not sure how to write it. Oneshots seem to be coming along fine as they are spur of the moment motivations that come by random chance...

Anyway, next oneshot. Meant to be a little funny, but not so sure anymore. *frowns at oneshot disapprovingly* Oh well. Enjoy reading!

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**Waiting: _Humilation_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** T **

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**

Humiliating…

That was what it was. 100%, pure humiliation to the extreme. If he died and was born again, he'd die again from the weight of the humiliation of what he would have to do.

He had dealt with all forms of humiliation in the past. Many of which had been traumatizing at the time of the incidents and could have killed his reputation, but his father had told him during all those times that humiliation was a stepping stone into gaining success into one's future. Though it did nothing to solve any of those problems, he did learn to steel himself throughout the years from those experiences, learning then that tangling with women spelled out disaster for him.

However, just remembering those moments were just as humiliating.

Once, when he was 5 years old, he had unknowingly eaten his pet dog's feces, after he heard his older female cousin tell him that dogs pooped out cookies. This went on for several days until he fell sick and a trip to the doctor and a stern scolding from his parents made him kick out the dog.

When he was 8, that same female cousin gained a fascination with dressing him up in frilly and lacy clothes. He looked like something right out of an anime show involving lolita fashion. His mother and aunts loved it. Anything frilly and lacy was removed and burned from his closet the next day.

At 13, he had tried impressing a girl he had a crush on while playing soccer for gym class. Right when he was nearing the goal, he lost control of the ball and the boy playing goalie ran up to kick the ball. Unfortunately for himself, he didn't bother stopping and ran straight into a flying soccer ball. As he was being dragged away with a bloody nose and two missing teeth by the smelly old gym teacher, he heard his classmates laughing at him from the sidelines. The last image he saw of his crush was seeing her on the ground laughing with tears in her eyes.

Then when he tried losing his virginity at age 16, he managed to somehow charm his way into the pants of the hottest senior in school. Though he knew much about sex, there was little that he knew about the act of it. The next day, the whole school found out about his bed skills involving balloon animals made of condoms and his blood-curling cries that were loud enough to wake the dead or kill the living during sex. He promptly asked his father to send him abroad.

During college, he met his fiancée, Kagome, for the first time. On that same day they met, she called him a hentai and got him arrested on charges involving sexual harassment. It didn't help that it was done in the middle of a mall during the busy hours of the weekend. All eyes were on him, many of which were accusing and disgusted at the so-called molestation act. She hadn't stopped yelling and cursing at him as he was escorted to the security room inside the mall. Although they had found the real culprit who had indeed touched her, a few of his father's business associates' children happened to be there. He was then known by them as a pervert. She never apologized either.

After clearing up the incident with Kagome back then and after they had gotten together, she had forced him to attend an anime convention with her as payment for a large favor that she had done for him. He never watched anime much, or at all so he knew nothing of this strange and foreign cult that Kagome followed religiously. Afterwards, he wished that he never knew about it at all after having to face so many otakus and crazy fangirls who gushed and swooned at the sight of him-what was the term that Kagome use? Oh yes, he remembered it now- _cosplaying _as this _Sephiroth_ person he knew nothing about. Men who traipsed around in long black leather capes that bared his chest was akin to one being favorable of the same sex. He had nothing against gay men, but he preferred women. He had never had so many phone numbers pictures taken from females _and_ males in one day. Kagome, also draped in a black leather outfit with fitted gloves and large boots, assured him that if she were male, she would have swooned at how he handled his-and he quoted- "rock-hard and long-ass sword" as well.

Though there were many other humiliations that he wished had been long buried and forgotten, they were nothing compared to this-this humiliation that had presented itself to him in a rectangular shape in its blue plastic covering and faint flowery smell. His lips were set in a thin line, refusing to budge though he wished he could scowl. If he could, then he could scare away all the women who were now gathered (for some annoying reason) to the aisle he was in, many of which to gaze upon his masculine beauty, some to claim one of those rectangular items, and some to do both.

Though he loved his Kagome dearly, despite humiliating him on the first day of their meeting and many times thereafter, why did he allow her to humiliate him further by doing _these_ insufferable tasks? Tasks, which males like himself, could not and should not perform? Did she _not_ know that he was male? One destined to never have to meet this godforsaken blue _thing_?

A vibration in his pocket caught his attention. Bringing it up to his ear, he simply grunted. The voice of his wonderful, though hated-at-the-moment fiancée rang forth from the other line. Sadly, he forgot that it was on speaker.

"Sesshoumaru! Where are you? I've been waiting forever for you to come back! Are you still at the store? Did you get what I needed? Make sure you get the right ones or no dinner for you, Mr. Fluffy!"

Giggles erupted from the females in the aisle. He groaned in annoyance and shook his head. This humiliation, never again! She could buy her own pads for herself next time!

* * *

Time for fanfic recommendation! This time around, I'd really like to recommend the great **forthright**'s fanfic, **_Unspoiled_**! It's a cute story about Kagome being sent back to when Sesshoumaru is still a kid. After reading each chapter, it kind of makes you feel light and content as you continue reading about their growing relationship. (_not _shotacon so don't even think about it!) It's such a nice read!

Thanks again for reading!


	11. For An Answer

Ten drafts later and I've realized that I'm stuck with writing the next chapter for Snow Pearl. Don't worry, its getting there... Somehow... *shies away* Anyway, its the start of the school year again for many people, my younger sisters including, and it feels weird for me not to be going back to school. Well, for those of you who're already in school, keep up the good work and those of you who're just starting, good luck!

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**Waiting: _For An Answer_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** G**

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"Miko, will you do the honor of becoming this Sesshoumaru's mate?"

There have been many things in her life that had left her slack-jawed, eyes wide like saucers and made her forget how to breathe… but this…_request_ of his really took the cake. To say that she was surprised was an understatement. She swore on her wonderful father's grave that at that particular moment; the sky was falling, the alignment of the cosmos was in disarray, Santa and the tooth fairy were real and crazy was actually spelled backwards. There was no way that Sesshoumaru, Mr-I-hate-all-ningens-and-everyone-is-beneath-me, had a smidge of interest in her at all, least of all in marrying-scratch that- mating her! There was absolutely no way!

However, that particular incident had taken place a month ago and she knew for sure that the youkai Lord of the West was still waiting for an answer, considering she had stayed at home well past the time limit he'd given her. She had a feeling he was probably still waiting though. Kagome hadn't known what to say after he had asked her, or rather, she'd forgotten how to form words in her mouth or even how to think! She'd almost forgot how to breathe until he touched her. An awkward silence ensued as she had no idea what to say to the youkai lord, whether to reject or take his offer. She honestly didn't know what to say at all!

They had just defeated Naraku, reduced him to a miniscule little spider, his true form. In his attempt to get away, Inuyasha stepped on him like the little pest that he was and thus, ended the reign of the horrific evil hanyou known as Naraku. Of course, this had been done with the aid of Inuyasha's former flame, Kikyou and his elder half-brother, Sesshoumaru. Once Naraku had been eliminated as a threat to the world, Inuyasha returned to Kikyou, a choice in which Kagome had supported as the two no longer shared anything other than sibling-like love towards one another. A wish on the Shikon no Tama gave Kikyou back the life that she had lost and it was a selfless wish on Kagome's part, one which the jewel honored because coming from the miko, it was pure and unselfish.

Strangely enough, once the wish had been granted, the jewel had turned into a ball of light and entered Kagome's body shortly after, becoming one with her, its eternal guardian for all time, extending her life for who-knows-how-long. Well, she knew that much once her body had absorbed the thing, as well as the fact that it would only allow her to pass through the well several more times before it would completely shut her off from either the future or the past. Now that her mission to complete in saving the world from total domination and destruction at the hands of an evil hanyou was over, it would only be fitting that she return home for a hero's welcome and stay there. However, she had grown accustomed to the past, had made friends and learned to love, even if she no longer felt the same way towards him. Yet her own family laid waiting for her on the other side of the well, hoping that she would return to them alive and well and live out the rest of her life spending every moment she lost with them in her time in the past.

As if that wasn't enough, shortly after they had celebrated the defeat of Naraku, Sesshomaru had pulled her aside and proposed to her, her of all people! Sure, they had gotten along fairly well since he had joined their group in finding a way to obliterate Naraku and they had their awkward moments together when they were alone. Even the way she watched Rin and Shippou play together while sitting alongside Sesshoumaru gave her no indication that he would see her in a romantic way.

He was, no doubt, a _fine_ specimen. Strong, good hygiene, silky long silver hair, beautiful amber eyes and downright_gorgeous_ with a spectacular body to boot! His deep husky voice gave her the tingles and every time he drew near her, her stomach would do back flips, in a good way. Ok, he was hot and she practically swooned at the sight of him and drooled whenever she saw him shirtless, but that wasn't the point. The point was… was… that he was drop dead _gorgeous_! Ok, ok. Not that either. Aside from having to talk to a wall every time she sputtered out nonsense and getting infuriated when he teased her (somehow) and having random moments of laughter together (which were rare and in-between), why should she accept his proposal in the first place, or at all?

She hadn't known what to do at the time, so he gave her a couple of days to think it over, but she left on the big D-day. She, essentially, ran away because she hadn't come up with an answer. It wouldn't be right, for either him or her if she said yes or no. Knowing him, he'd probably just take her away using force or use his own method persuasion which she'd know would work, or use both probably, but she'd end up regretting it immediately. If she said yes… well, it just wouldn't feel right… so she ran home, back to her time where he couldn't reach her…

_

* * *

_

"Hey mom?" Kagome asked her mother.

"Yes dear?" her mother answered as she stirred the sizzling vegetables.

Her mother was busy preparing lunch in their small and modest home. Her brother Souta was half-listening to her grandfather babble on about sutras and whatnot in the living room and her cat, Buyo, was lazily napping by window, soaking in the sun's warm rays. Kagome was sitting on a chair backwards while facing her mother. It was the weekend, and she wasn't worried about finishing up homework for school, considering she graduated from high school last week already. It had been a tough month to try to catch up and study like a maniac, but she had done it and passed… either that or her teachers pitied her too much to fail her.

"Can you tell me…how dad proposed to you again?"

Her mother turned down the heater before going back to stirring, "That again? Didn't you ask me that question a little while ago?"

Kagome laughed hesitantly, "Yeah well…I just wanna hear you tell me about it again. I like hearing about dad."

Her mother laughed a little before turning off the stove and transferring the vegetables to a bowl nearby.

"I suppose I can tell you again. Now let's see… your father and I… oh yes, it was right after I graduated from high school. Now, back then, your father and I were good friends. He had graduated two years before me so he was my senpai and I was his kouhai. After he graduated, we talked from time to time, but we didn't get to spend time together as much as we'd like to because I had school and he had work."

Her mother brought the bowl of stir-fried vegetables over to the table and once she set it down, she began setting the table. Kagome helped.

"It was right after I graduated that I realized that I didn't know what to do with my future. Your grandparents, my mother and father, didn't have a lot of money to send me to college and I scored average on many tests, which wasn't enough to get me a scholarship or internship anywhere. My friends that I graduated with went out to eat as a congratulatory gift to ourselves. We visited the restaurant where your father worked and he ended being our waiter for the evening."

Kagome's mother giggled a little as she remembered her father. She smiled with her.

"Your father was ecstatic to see my friends and me there. My friends and I stayed there until the restaurant closed and we went our separate ways once we left the restaurant. I had gone a little ways before seeing your father running up to me. He offered to walk me home and I let him. We talked the whole way to my home."

Her mother went to the rice cooker and scooped some rice into a bowl before returning to the table to set it down.

"Once we were outside my house, your father asked me what I would do now that school was over. I hadn't really known at the time what I wanted to do. I wasn't a very smart student and didn't have a lot of money. It was then that your father asked me to marry him."

Her mother lifted a hand to cover her mouth. Kagome smiled, knowing that her mother was a bit embarrassed at telling her this.

"Your father was blushing so fiercely that I thought he was running a fever at first, but it was so warm out that I knew for sure he wasn't. His body was stiff like a board and he stammered so badly that I almost had to ask him to repeat himself."

Another smile.

"I was surprised when he asked me that question. I didn't say anything to him at all. It must have felt like a millennia before he spoke again and told me he'd wait for my answer at the nearby playground after he got off work in three days to hear my answer. He left soon after, looking like a nervous wreck."

Kagome couldn't help butting in, "And how long did it take for you to decide?"

Her mother laughed, "Two weeks! I avoided your father for two weeks! I was so nervous I didn't know what to say or what to think! At first I thought your father had been joking, but then after a day or two, I began to think seriously about it. Would it be so bad if I were to reject him? What if I accepted it? What then? By the time the end of that week, I still didn't have an answer and avoided meeting up with him."

"Aw… you're so mean to dad, mom!" came the voice of Souta.

Her little brother shuffled into the kitchen and sat in one of the chairs with a smile on his face. Apparently, he enjoyed listening to stories about their parents as well. The sounds of their grandfather's incessant ramblings had stopped and had been replaced with loud snoring.

Her mother pouted and tried to defend herself, "I was not! I was just unsure about him at the time! That was all!"

"_Right_ mom!" Souta teased her, "Leave _poor_ dad hanging for two _whole_ weeks!"

"It's actually one week, dork. Dad already gave her one week and mom made him wait another week," Kagome told him.

He rolled his eyes at her, "whatever."

Their mother coughed and sat in her chair next to Souta.

"Well, either way, I avoided your father for another week before I finally came to a decision."

"That you loved him and wanted to marry him!" Souta jumped in.

Their mother shook her head, "Close, dear, but not exactly that. I wasn't still sure about marrying him, but I thought about it long and hard before I realized that marriage would be a good way for us to get to know one another too… "

"Yes!" Souta cheered. Kagome stifled a giggle.

Her mother grinned, "So I went to the playground at the end of the second week and sure enough, your father was there, looking like he had just lost a fight."

"Aww…" Kagome pretended to pout.

"But I walked right up to him and before he could apologize for asking me to marry him, I said yes."

"Yay!" Kagome cheered and her brother laughed, "And what'd he do after you said yes?"

Their mother laughed a little and replied, "Your father was so surprised that he didn't know what to say. Then he suddenly hugged me tight and twirled me around in a circle and promised that he'd make sure that he'd never let me regret that decision."

Then her mother's face became genuine and soft. A small smile full of love and nostalgia came to her lips. It was a look that she adored seeing on her mother, one which she wanted to have one day towards the one she loved.

"And he has. I've never regretted it to this day. Even though I wasn't sure at first, I've grown to love your father dearly, because he gave me you two."

Both Kagome and Souta looked at each other and grinned, but Kagome broke eye contact to return to her mother with a question, one that she had been looking for.

"But mom, how… how did you-er… no that's not right," she said, scratching her head, "what reasons did you have to say yes to dad?"

"What do you mean dear?" her mother asked her.

She stuttered, "U-um… W-well, like… uh, you know how, with marriage, you have to go stay with your husband and his family, right? How… how'd you cope with not seeing your family again…a-at least f-for a while anyway?"

Her mother thought about it for a bit and turned back to her with a smile, "Well, I could always see my family, but I think it was the thought of creating and having a family of our own with your father that made it bearable. In time, I'd be able to see my family again, but you guys were well worth the wait and well worth having."

Kagome thought about it for a second before continuing on, "Weren't you worried though? What if he turned out to be a wife beater or a mass murderer? Or what if he liked passing gas in front of you every time you ate or-or snored loudly next to you in bed? Weren't you worried about that?"

Her mother laughed, "Kagome! Your father was none of those, but even if he were, I had already said yes. I'd known him already from our years of knowing each other and he seemed like a genuinely good person. You shouldn't worry about the small things all the time! I took things as they came, just as your father did with me. Sometimes, it's the getting to know the real him and everything else that makes it well worth it too!"

She winked and Kagome was startled for s second before she grinned. She had a feeling that her mother knew why she was asking.

"Before we start eating, Kagome, let me tell you this so you can think about it. In the words of what a wise man once said, 'Yesterday is history, the future is a mystery, but today…is a gift.' Remember, and cherish your memories well so that you can create new ones today to make a better tomorrow for yourself and your future family. Though you never know what to expect in the future, its well worth finding out, isn't it?" she smiled.

"That's why the future's a mystery!" Souta added in, "So you can find out the answers for yourself!"

Her mother nodded and laughed along with her brother.

True, Sesshoumaru was a whirlwind of mystery. She knew him before as a murderous beast, bent on the death and destruction of Inuyasha, herself included, but time would change that with a little girl named Rin. Afterwards, he grew a little bit kinder. Sometimes, when no one was paying attention, she'd see the way his eyes soften when Rin talked to him, the way his body loosen when she hugged him and the way he tolerate everyone else's presence just for her when he never did before. Perhaps the same could be said of now, considering he had been giving her more attention than before and had actively sought her out some days when she was alone though he tried to cover it up by saying they were meeting by coincidence. He was a loving person, she could tell, and would be a loving father if they had kids. Though she saw these sides of him, what else was he hiding beneath that cold exterior of his? Were they worth finding out?

Her attention strayed back to her family. Her grandfather had risen to join them in their meal, grumbling about how young people were too loud. Souta and her mother were joking around about something and laughing about it. She couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly, a pang of sadness hit her heart. Her family… it'd be a while before she'd see them again, but was it worth it to leave them?... yet just knowing that she'd get to see her family again… maybe it'd be enough, because she'd have her own to cope her newfound time with, a new family to love and cherish. Maybe… just maybe… she would give it a try, considering Sesshoumaru had obviously thought it through, despite problems that would and could come into play if they were to marry/mate, he still wanted to be with her. Heck, if it failed, she could always pulverize his icy butt with her miko powers… but she would try it, and she'd make it up to him for dipping out on him for a month.

Kagome stood up, "Hey you guys..?"

Her mother turned to her, "Yes dear?"

She turned to look at the rest of her family and smiled.

"I've got something to tell you…"

* * *

Well, you can figure out the ending of this yourself. If I get enough reviews, I may write a sequel, in which she goes to give Sesshoumaru her answer... but then again, you already know the ending... but its up to you guys.

Anyway, recommendations... I'd like to recommend a manga in which I love uberly to death and its anime as well. This manga/anime has a sort of slice of life feel with a supernatural and a few comedic quirks here and there, but its a wonderful manga/anime if you've the chance to read/watch it! It's called "Mushishi." You can wikipedia it to find out more about it. Though there's not much or any romance at all, no action and each episode/chapter could almost be a standalone oneshot, its got a wonderful story that sometimes ends happily or leaves a somewhat odd taste in your mouth that isn't entirely too bad but makes you feel somewhat satisfied. I highly recommend this series!

Alright, that's all folks! Till the next one!


	12. Remember The Red Eyes

Man... First time I've done anything horror-related (though this story is anything but scary cause really, it isn't!) or a challenge fic! There's a Halloween challenge over at Dokuga and I thought I'd give it a shot and I came up with this... crap. Oh well. It's 685~ish words ((fanfiction(dot)net and microsoft word keep giving me different numbers for some reason...) and sorta Halloween-y so let's hope the people at Dokuga will accept it!

* * *

**Waiting: _Remember The Red Eyes_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** R **(just to be safe)

* * *

She remembered those eyes. Red and _hungry_…

She had been four when she'd seen those eyes that belonged to the white beast that viciously tore her father's body apart like a limp ragdoll. It had been Halloween and her father had taken her out trick-or-treating. They were taking a shortcut through the woods when out of nowhere, a gigantic white dog came barreling through the trees and snatched her father's body right up.

Had the beast not enjoyed her father's thrashing body so much, she would have considered it beautiful. Its soft white coat was matted down with blood and its sharp teeth ripped away at her father's body voraciously. She'd been too scared to run when her father screamed. Even after his cries ended and all she heard were bones crunching, she stood rooted to the same spot, too scared to move.

Her last few memories of the beast, was of it turning its blood red eyes at her, mouth dripping with blood. Everything went hazy and she could remember no more.

She said it had been a demon. The police recommended that Kagome get help. Her mother agreed. The psychiatrist concluded that Kagome had divorced the whole event from reality, perceiving what her childish mind could only understand.

No one believed her… except Grandpa.

Her family moved in with him. During the day, she was fine…but at night, she tossed and turned, sweated and grasped air as she fought for breath. Nightmares plagued her constantly; of red eyes, sharp teeth and blood everywhere… then she'd wake to see Grandpa with a sutra in hand.

Grandpa's sutras had always worked and she was grateful, because if it weren't for him, she'd be a goner. She knew this to be true when she turned fifteen and went camping with friends, forgetting her nightmares and that Grandpa's sutras were what held them at bay. She'd gone to sleep when she was suddenly seized by those same red eyes, glaring with a fury.

"**You've forgotten**," it spoke, scaring her. She'd never heard it speak before.

Forgotten? Forgotten what?

"**You promised!**" it snarled and lunged at her.

She tried screaming, but could not breathe or cry for help. All seemed lost when she jolted awake to find Grandpa's sutra clutched tightly in her hands. She thanked Grandpa from then on for sneaking a sutra into her camping bag.

Since then, she kept always a sutra on her or nearby. She'd tried making some sutras, but it never worked like Grandpa's. Without him, she'd never be able to sleep peacefully… but then he passed away.

He died in his sleep, she was told. He was gone… Grandpa was gone… which meant, the nightmares were coming _back_.

Too scared to sleep, she pulled all-nighters and drank coffee to the point of puking. She'd stayed awake for a week before her mother took notice and laced her coffee with sedatives.

Now… those same red eyes were looking down at her. She was four again, looking on with fear at the beast, her father's bloody entrails clinging onto its teeth.

"I-if you d-don't eat m-me…" she gulped through shaky breaths, "I-I'll d-do w-whatever you w-want…"

She felt like crying when the beast stared her down before disappearing in a haze and reappearing in a human-like form. He was dressed in a white kimono, bone armor and a white furry thing draped over his shoulder. He walked up to her and lifted her chin to make her look up at him. She noticed that his eyes were a golden color.

He spoke, "**When you come of age, I will take you to be my mate**."

She shuddered at the sound of his voice, deep and sensual.

His lips then lifted into a smirk, "**I've waited long enough… and now… you're _mine_**."

Kagome blinked and realized that she was no longer the four year old that had first laid eyes upon the beast, but now her fully-awake, adult self looking into the eyes of the same demon, his blood _red_ eyes. She remembered the hunger in them, but now, it _lusted _for her.

"**_Mine_…**"

She cried.


	13. To Be Fucked Or Not To Be Fucked

Hi guys! Another long time no see! As you've noticed, I haven't been around for a while. For questions about why I haven't updated, I suggest you go to my profile for answers. I also had an unfortunate comment for my story, "The Gray Bird," that really made me quite miffed and depressed. Though the reviewer had a point, I really felt like she was attacking me more than explaining my mistake on not rectifying the need for a disclaimer for the story, of which I humbly apologize to all of you for. Of course, I just happened to read the review at a _really_ bad time too...

Anyway, Snow Pearl got nominated and won a joint 3rd place with "Angel" by Sessakag (very good fanfic btw! Please read it!) for Best Sesshoumaru Portrayal for the 3rd Quarter of 2010 at Dokuga. Seriously, if life were like cartoon, you'd have seen my jaw dropping to the ground when I saw that my fanfic had won 3rd place. lol Anyway, thanks to those who wandered on over to nominate and vote for my story!

Oh btw, some of you wanted me to continue some of my oneshots and really, it all depends on whether I want to or not. Some of the oneshots are (or seem to be as I've been told) preludes to chapter stories, but I'm not sure I have the time (or motivation) to make it into a story, though I do invite you all to do it if you have the plot for it in mind. Just make sure to tell me if you do.

Well, hope you enjoy this oneshot!

* * *

**Waiting: _To Be Fucked Or Not To Be Fucked_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

Rated:** R **(for lemony content! yummy... ;3)

* * *

Oh boy… she was fucked… literally…

For the past some hours, the horny dog youkai lord had been at her, taking her in many exhilarating and creative positions, but nonetheless, he had been ravenous with her, desperate even. Never had she had someone give her so much sexual attention in her whole life, or rather, in the last few hours anyway, considering she had been a virgin up until the youkai lord popped her cherry. For someone who had been raised to be a shrine priestess and believed in the whole "marriage before sex" jig, never would she have guessed to give up her virginity for a few romps around the sack, and with someone of a completely different species in a different time no less!

Oh, she hadn't been so depraved and sex crazy when she was back in her own time with her friends. Sure, they'd have the occasional talk about sex and boys and how they'd like their first night to go (after marriage of course). Of course, she'd sometimes stumble across certain hentai sites online or had a few steamy imaginations of herself stuck between a rock and a hard place… and a hard thing poking in places where someone as virginal (formerly) as herself should not have been thinking about, but she was an onna now… and thoughts of herself and a certain youkai lord going at it like two horny rabbits during mating season sure brought her code of chastity down quite a few notches. Yet she still fought hard to maintain the whole "waiting until marriage" before jumping the gun.

However, the scale of chastity fell down towards depravity even more once she caught sight of the youkai lord in all his naked glory once upon an a warm moonlit night. As if laying her eyes upon a nude and glistening youkai lord in the water wasn't enough, the fact that he was handling his *ahem* equipment in his dexterous hands (rather well if you asked her) that very night made her a devout voyeur thereon after. Although she had felt guilty for spying upon him the first few nights, she finally came to the conclusion that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Of course, there was a possibility that the sex god called Sesshoumaru would be quite offended by her peeping tendencies, she figured that she'd rather die of blood loss from a nosebleed rather than dying at the hands of her enemy Naraku (though said enemy was hot as hell, but thoughts of him had to be put aside for another night full of Sesshoumaru and his-uh-phallic friend). Despite it all, she had a feeling that he probably knew that she was spying….

Yet Kagome stuck to her moral code of chastity as she needed her purity to summon her powers to fight against Naraku (though her mind drooled at the thought of his naked-er-evilness…along with his deceptively delicious parts which she imagined were pleasing to the eye). Fate then threw another twist at her, testing her resolve in the form of a completely accidental chance upon a rutting session between Inuyasha and Kikyou, a very detailed and graphic explanation from Sango about her nightly "exercises" with Miroku, and her favorite online site, Dokuga, and its many well-written lemons/fanfics. Oh, the fanfics were a (_damn_!) good read and some of the images made her wet at the thought of the youkai lord having his way with her, but she was a good girl. She would prove herself worthy as a miko, a _pure_ protector of the Shikon no Tama, despite how much her mind (and her body) ached for sexual gratification. She would wait until marriage before having sex. Period.

However, Kagome should have known that with all the curve balls that fate had been throwing at her to test her purity, she should have realized how formidable her opponent was. Her opponent came to her this very night when she happened to be at the spring (sans Sango) that night, "enjoying" herself. Unfortunately, said opponent happened to be nearby when she called his name in ecstasy. Almost like an obedient dog (which he happened to be though a youkai), the object of her desire appeared before her and stripped himself down to have his way with her. He tore down her defenses, made her hunger for him like a starved person and made her die a million times over, only to be brought back to life to experience another mind-blowing orgasm.

The youkai lord was an addict to her body. He had to have her every second of every minute of each hour that had passed. He'd drive and spill into her so many times, and she loved every bit of it. The passion-filled noises he coaxed from her and the sounds of their activities made her feel so incredibly dirty… but in a very satisfied way… She had little to no sleep, and the constant onslaught of his weapon driving in between her legs would wake her pleasurably every time she passed out.

Yet strangely enough, after she had passed out last, she had woken to seeing him sleeping soundly next to her. Perhaps too much sex had made the youkai lord fatigued?

Kagome looked at him over, and came to the conclusion that the pale sex god beside her was indeed sleeping. It was still dark; perhaps they had not slept for long. She turned over and winced at the slight pain between her legs. Looking down, she took notice that her thighs were drenched in sweat and both of their cum. Perhaps a bath was in order…

Just as she began to crawl away from her youkai lover, she suddenly felt his clawed hands wrap around her waist.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he asked her with a nip to her ear.

"U-uh, j-just wanted to w-wash m-myself," she stammered, feeling his length hardening against her buttocks.

Oh god. This wasn't good… Sex was good, but… well, too much sex was… still good?

No, she shook her head as he began placing kisses on her shoulder, she needed to go back. What if the others found her like this with Sesshoumaru? She'd be mortified!

She reached her hands out to pull herself towards the water. Though she tried to speak, to tell Sesshoumaru that she needed to bathe and go back to the others, his rough thrusts between her legs made her whimper instead. So, instead of talking, she had to get to crawling. Moving another hand forward, she tried moving out of his hold, but Sesshoumaru paid it no mind and held onto her even tighter, caging her petite self his hot and sweaty body. He was making it harder for her to escape his hold.

She slapped herself mentally. Though it was still dark, she needed to get herself back to camp. Maybe the others were looking for her already due to her long absence… but damn… she was getting _really_ wet…

"Hn…" was his reply as he began rubbing himself easily between her thighs due to their mixed cum from earlier and the wetness seeping from her nether lips.

"S-sesshou…maru…" she moaned.

She _really_ needed to go head back to the others. Who knows… if… they… were… coming… oh yes… _coming_…

Her mind was starting to go down the gutter as Sesshoumaru rubbed his hard chiseled chest against her back and began picking up his pace. Gods! That body of his was so hard and…

She moaned again when one of his hands snuck up to knead one of her bare breasts. The feel of his wet tongue laving away at her neck and shoulder made her moan louder.

"Mmm…" he moaned with her.

She squeaked when his fingers tweaked her nipple. Gods! He was making it hard for her to think!

"Kagome…" he murmured against her shoulder.

Hearing him say her name made her come instantly. He chuckled deeply. Damn, his voice was enough to make her come…

He stopped suddenly and moved to align his dick at her entrance.

"I'm going to fuck you now, little miko."

Before she could say anything, he drove hard and fast into her, making her cry out in pleasure. Not giving her any reprieve, he set a rough and quick pace, thrusting into her as he clamped his fangs over her shoulders. Her mouth suddenly open into a silent scream as the pain in her shoulder set in, making the thrusting between her legs feel even hotter, wetter.

She dug her fingers into the ground, enjoying the squishing sounds that emerged every time his penis drove into her. She felt their juices drip down her thighs, making his movements easier, slicker, wetter. He was hard, thick and large, filling and stretching her to the point of pain, but she realized earlier on that she loved it. The youkai was dangerous as he was sexy. She loved the combination.

The youkai then stopped his attention on her breast and instead moved to wrap his arms around her waist once again, picking up his pace and pounding into her without regard to her small physique. Not able to hold herself up anymore, the miko collapsed onto the ground, giving the youkai lord chance to lift her ass higher in the air. Sesshoumaru growl as the new position made it easier to slide in and out of her, picking up the pace with his youkai speed.

"Take it… miko…" he grunted with every thrust.

"Yes…" she hissed in mounting pleasure.

She could feel the head of his dick against her cervix, fucking her as deeply as he could. Though it hurt a bit, she loved it, making her moan louder.

"Who fucks you best, miko?" he growled deeply, making her shiver wonderfully.

"Y-you d-do…" she managed to stutter out in pleasure.

Thrust! Thrust!

The sounds of their bodies hitting each other grew quicker and rougher. She felt the stirrings of her orgasm coming. His grip on her tightened to the point of pain. She felt herself pulled impossibly closer against his larger sweaty body.

"Say it again!" Sesshoumaru growled.

Thrust! Thrust!

"You do!" she panted.

She was close! So _very_ close!

Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!

He was close too, she could tell.

"Again!" he snarled in dominance.

"YOU!" she screamed.

Suddenly, the floodgates of her orgasm broke and she came hard with a scream. Sesshoumaru fucked her hard as she came, enjoying the way her tight channel tried to hold his dick inside her. She knew he'd come inside her with a few more strokes.

Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!

His claws suddenly dug in her hips, breaking skin. Though she felt pain, she ignored it and moaned as his hot seed released within her womb. Waiting minutes as the last of his seed emptied inside of her, he finally stroked his deflating cock within her walls soothingly before pulling out and rolling to the side. She felt their juices flow out from her sex, dripping down her soaked thighs. Both stayed as they were, panting for breath and letting the heat of the moment cool off.

After catching her breath, she rolled herself to the side to look at the youkai lord. She was met with piercing amber eyes, filled with desire…and a certain softness to it. Was it for her?

He stared at her for a few minutes before rolling over and placing a soft kiss against her lips. It was sweet and gentle, nothing compared to the sexual activity they were engrossed in earlier. He pulled her close to his naked body, nestling her head underneath his chin.

"Sleep, miko," his sensual and dead sexy voice commanded her.

Feeling the fatigue hit her; she complied and closed her eyes, feeling herself drift away. He kissed her forehead and she smiled dreamily. Maybe it was good that she didn't wait until marriage to have sex because it was one of the best things that could have happened to her.

"Rest well…for I shall fuck you again when you wake…" he told her cheekily.

Tch. Horny dog. Maybe she should have waited.

* * *

For suggestions, if I haven't already suggested it before, I highly suggest Madison's "Blood Stained"! Although the story is dark and mature, (due to the story containing rape so its only for adults kiddies. sorry!) I find that the way Kagome and Sesshoumaru's characters stay true to how they'd react, due to certain incidents and their relationship with each other due to his beast, to be very well done! I've never read a better portrayal of either of the two! So definitely, go read it if you've got a chance!

Have a good one!


	14. Worth It

Hello! I come with another one shot. Hurray! Well, kinda. I was half asleep when I wrote this. lol Anyway, the idea came to me when I was looking through the challenges in the Dokuga forums and thought, "Hey, you always get Sesshoumaru as a demon and Kagome as demon too or as a human, or both of them are humans... but what if he was human and she was a demon?" _oooooooooooooh_... lol Maybe there are a few fanfics out there with this reversed role, but I haven't read/found them yet. Though I'm not too happy with how this oneshot turned out... but oh well.

Anyway, remember double R's! Enjoy!

* * *

**Waiting: _Worth It_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated T**

* * *

"Higurashi-dono!"

She felt her heartbeat quicken at the sound of his voice. Her pace slowed for a bit, but she continued on as if he wasn't there calling for her. Though he was a distance away, she could hear him as clear as day. Being a youkai gave one abilities that were better than ningens… but it did nothing to deter ningens from leaving youkai like her alone. Ningens were attracted to youkai simply because they were beautiful beings, as well as fearsome due to their awesome strength and agility. This man knew it all and yet, she knew that when he saw her, those were the last things on his mind.

He called her again and she kept walking.

Just keep walking, she told herself, just keep walking.

Though she chanted it over and over like a mantra in her head, she could not stop her heart from racing at the sound of his deep, baritone voice, nor the blush that was settling in on her cheeks.

"Higurashi-dono!" he called again, only a few yards away now.

Although she wasn't supposed to associate with him, it was improper to ignore someone, especially out in public as she had a reputation to keep for the public eye.

Turning around as if she had been caught by surprise, she saw the tall and devilishly handsome young man, dressed in his white and green colored western attire, come to a stop just before her, panting. Ningens were such weak creatures. Had she been the one running, she wouldn't have taken so long to catch up to him nor would she have been out of breath.

Stopping herself from grinning from his proximity, she let a small smile on her face as she placed her clawed hands together in the front of her white kimono and bowed to greet him, "Good morning, Sesshoumaru-san."

One he caught his breath, he tossed his long silver hair back behind him and placed one of his handsome but slight grins on his face. She gulped. How she longed to touch that silky smooth hair of his…and that grin made her shiver in delight… but she stopped herself before she could. Ningens were _baaaaaaaaaaad_ for her… so _hopelessly_ bad… yet she couldn't stop herself from becoming attracted to this particular one for some reason…and she knew that he was attracted to her as well, what with the constant "bumping into one another" acts he had been pulling lately…acts which she didn't mind and actually looked forward to.

"Higurashi-dono, it is good to see you," he greeted her, breaths slowing down.

"Did you need something, Sesshoumaru-san?" she asked him politely.

He paused for a moment, as if remembering what he had called her for and nodded slightly. That simple act made her appreciate his humanity even more. Youkai were always deadpan and boring, but with ningens, they were so _expressive_ (in certain ways) and_different_…that and he was so _cute_ sometimes…

"Higurashi-dono, I have a request of you, if you'll hear it," he told her formally.

An eyebrow rose. A request? Did something bad happen?

"What would Sesshoumaru-san like to speak with me about? Has something happened to your family?" she asked, worry lacing her words.

Perhaps a family member was in trouble or harmed? His half-brother, Inuyasha, was prone to getting into a few fights, of which led her to meeting Sesshoumaru. Though they shared the same ningen father, Inuyasha's mother was a youkai. It was odd for a female youkai to take on a male ningen as a mate, but then again, it was odd that Kagome herself was attracted to a ningen in the first place… which did not bode well for her family, but she couldn't help herself from feeling so.

He shook his head, "No. They are in perfect health, as well as Inuyasha, that is, if you are asking about his."

"Oh, is there another matter which ails you?" she replied with a small breath of relief.

She loved hearing the man speak. Youkai tended to speak rough and sharply, but with this man… this ningen… she could not get enough of his voice.

He shook his head again with a slight chuckle, "Nothing ails me, Higurashi-dono. I come to you with a simple request, that is all."

She blinked. A simple request? Whatever could it be?

He started to speak, but she became lost in the sound of his voice and captivated by a drip of sweat sliding down his neck slowly, as if caressing his thick pale skin in front of her. She watched as it disappeared beneath his white shirt, which happened to be unbuttoned down to his chest. She was sure that perhaps he worked out, considering she could see a faint outlining of his rippled muscles from beneath his white shirt and what his open green vest couldn't hide. In comparison to a youkai, for a ningen, he had a very nice body…a _very_ nice indeed…

"…will you, Higurashi-dono?"

She snapped out of her imaginations, of a sweaty and shirtless Sesshoumaru, to the clothed one before her.

She stammered a bit, "I'm s-sorry S-Sesshoumaru-san, c-could you please repeat that?"

His grin grew a little bit, as if he knew what she had been so focused on while he had been talking.

"Higurashi-dono, I am asking you if you would allow me to court you," his sensual voice caressed her.

She blinked. He what?

"C-court me?" she repeated his words, "A-are you sure?"

His grin faltered a little.

"That is… if you will allow me…Higurashi-dono…" he seemed to be regretting his request as the nervousness edged the tip of his voice. If she wasn't a youkai, she wouldn't have been able to catch it.

Was the man serious?

She weighed her options in her mind. As a youkai from a prominent family, it would do little good for her to become involved with a ningen, much less one that had a step-brother who was a hanyou. Hanyous were hated, spat upon for their unclean and mixed blood of ningen and youkai. There had been ningens who sought to exterminate youkai like herself, or hated them with a passion. Sesshoumaru had hated her kind for most of his life, but she had come to realize that his hatred came from the fact that his father had thrown his mother aside to take on a youkai bride. His anger grew after his half brother, Inuyasha, had been conceived, but it was the same brother who had become her loyal friend through odd tidings.

Though Sesshoumaru's feelings towards youkai had changed since meeting her, there was still the fact that her own family was not very accepting of ningens as Inuyasha's family was. True, her family accepted that ningens could have the same rights and status as youkai, but her family was an old and highly respected youkai family of full-blooded youkai. She'd be destroying many centuries worth of respect and prestige that her family had built to have a small "fling" (was it even a fling which she felt for him?) with a ningen man…plus, he wasn't even the same age as her! Even if they were to, by some chance, mate in the unknown future, he would die long before her. Would this possible relationship be worth it? Could they be strong enough to deal with the drama that would unfold with their relationship? Perhaps maybe she was just thinking too far ahead?

"I…I don't know…" she managed to say hesitantly.

His grin disappeared and was replaced with disappointment, "… I see…well… Higurashi-san, if you'll excuse me then I-"

He began to turn to leave.

No! Don't go! she screamed in her head.

She was going to lose her chance! Was there even hope of a chance with him? Was it even worth it? Of all the males she knew, they were all youkai with the intent to mate her and gain her family prestige, but with this man, this ningen male, he would gain little due to his race…yet he would not care. She knew him to be an honorable man, a good man. Though he was weaker than her and held less of a status than she did, she still liked him for he was and what he was. She loved him for his humanity.

She'd waited her whole life, centuries worth of it, to feel as happy as she did with someone whom she could rely on and fall in love with. Although it was the norm for youkai to be married out of duty or for making alliances, she found that it was a life that she did not want. Finding what could benefit one was the youkai way, but she didn't want to do it the youkai way anymore, at least, not with this man. She wanted to do it the ningen way, with the man she knew she was falling in love with.

"W-wait!" she called him as he began walking away.

He stopped and turned around to look at her.

"Higurashi-dono?"

She hesitated and looked down at her clawed hands, gripping at the fabric of her kimono and tracing the pink sakura patterns with her thumbs.

"I…w-will accept y-your c-courtship… if y-you'll have me…s-still…" she stammered as she looked down nervously.

Trained since birth, she was taught to never let her emotions show or run her life and to never let herself appear weak before anyone… but this ningen... this _man_, would make her forget all her centuries worth of training, that she had painstakingly gone through, in the blink of an eye. Was he even worth it?

She was met with silence and looked up slowly. She was surprised to see him smiling at her, softly, and with that gentleness in his eyes that she had grown to love about him. He came forward and took her delicate, but clawed hands in his own large and blunt hands. They were warm to the touch, calloused, but warm.

"Kagome…" he whispered her name and she held back another shiver. She loved that voice of his, she loved everything about him.

Lifting one of her hands, he rose it to his lips and kissed it. She could feel her face heat up from another blush. She probably looked like a red tomato right now.

When his face rose to meet hers, he gave her a slight smile. She gave one in return.

Yes, he was worth it.

* * *

I'm not exactly happy with this oneshot, but I'm hoping to mess around with this idea more later on.

For suggestions, I'd like to recommend I Agree's oneshot collection, "Fatherly Influence." The oneshots are tied together to make a story about what would happen if Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father came back from the grave to help his son find a mate, with the help of an unwilling Kagome in tow. lol It's as funny as it is well written, though I sorely wish the oneshots were longer, but alas, they are not. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers! Make sure to check it out!

Thanks again for reading!


	15. Howl

For a scary challenge that was on Dokuga. Way too early for Halloween, but needed something to get me back into the writing as I'm sort of stuck with my fanfics at the moment. Hopefully this'll get the fanfic writing juices going! Not too scary, but hope it works... somehow... *sweatdrop*

* * *

**Waiting: _Howl_**

_by PhoenixBlade_

**Rated _T_**

* * *

The first time she heard a howl was shortly after 3:00 in the morning. She'd woken up from a nightmare that she couldn't even remember, but had left her clenching sweat soaked sheets. The howl had been short and sounded well off in the distance that she had brushed it off as a stray dog… yet it irked her enough to pull her comforter up her chin.

The second time she heard the howling was when she had counted to 1000, as sleep would not claim her. Fear of her nightmare returning had made it hard to succumb to sleep. She had been running, she remembered, but from what she could not recall, only that she had to get away. The howl this time was longer and seemed to be getting closer. Perhaps the stray was hungry for food… or fighting for territory against other dogs. She just had to close her eyes and let herself drift off to dreamland.

Yet she could not and had heard the howl a bit sooner than the last one had come… and closer, _much_ closer. A flash of silver crossed her mind and she shivered involuntarily, not from the cold air, but from fear, making her toss her comforter over her head. She knew she had some sort of fear due to something traumatic from her childhood concerning a dog, but it shouldn't have been so bad for her to be scared of some stray wandering the streets at night, could she? She was inside her house for god's sake! The only thing that could get to her was her nightmares, but they weren't real… but they were scary enough to get her heart pumping and blood running. She could faintly remember something silver getting closer, and closer and-

The howl was suddenly outside her window. What the… Did that stray suddenly find its way to the shrine? And so quickly! The last howl had sounded far off, but had somehow, in what seemed to only be a few minutes, found its way to the shrine grounds, just right outside her house! Was it so hungry that it was able to sniff out the small offering Grandpa had laid out for his so-called shrine guardians that didn't exist? Perhaps it was, but the speed it must have taken to get to her shrine was impossible to believe, considering the climb up the stairs was no easy walk in the park… Was she dreaming perhaps? Dreaming of red eyes, peeking from a mane of silver, hungry and staring right at her… A chill ran down her spine as she gripped tightly to the comforter in hopes of chasing away the new image from her nightmare.

In what seemed just as impossible, she heard a howl…outside her door… When had it gotten there! The door downstairs had been shut and locked, by herself no less! Mama had closed all the windows tightly, of which even she checked to make sure! How was this even possible! She hadn't even heard the stray-or whatever it was-run up the stairs to her room! It shouldn't have even been able to come inside her house! She was starting to panic. What was outside her room? Why was this happening? Mama! Make it go away! Its claws were getting closer! She had to get away! She had to wake up! Mama! Ma-

A sudden chill crept into her room; seeping into her comforter and making her shiver more from it. She waited, seconds, knowing what was coming and hoping it wasn't going to happen. Then, she heard it, a howl…inside her very own room. She felt it, the…_thing_, _inside_ her room. She heard its light footsteps coming towards her bed, too light to even be heard, but somehow she knew it was coming. Her heart rate shot up as she clung on tighter to the fabric, gripping it tightly between sweaty and aching fingers. Her eyes shut tightly, her breathing became hitched, uneven and she couldn't stop the trembling of her body as it stopped right beside her bed, making her unease shoot up a thousand fold. Why was this happening!

A flash of fanged teeth, smirking at her as sharp clawed hands reaching for her suddenly broke her from her memory of her nightmare and the slight tugging of her comforter brought her back to reality, telling her that, yes, this was happening! In panic, she pulled her comforter back; making it, whatever it was, pull harder. In desperation, she tightened her hold and it, in turn, responded with a pull so strong that her grip on the comforter forced her to turn over to face her intruder. She lost her grip and screamed as the fabric of the comforter flew past her onto the floor, revealing herself to the other occupant of the room.

Seconds rolled by before she realized that nothing had happened to her. Though she was terrified of whoever or whatever was in her room, its presence was gone. She was curious, and scared shitless, yet she had to know if it was still in her room. Cracking an eye open, and then the other one, she realized that she was staring into a dark empty room, illuminated faintly only by the light of the moon coming in from outside her window. Still cautious, she sat up on her bed, looking into all areas of her room, but nothing seemed out of place. Where had it gone?

She got off her bed to examine her room, pushing aside large objects that may have hidden something large, like a person, and even checking outside her window for any other potential intruders. She even dared to check inside her closet with an umbrella in hand, but nothing was in there. Looking at her clock, she saw that it was almost 4:00. Mama would be waking soon, and it'd be stupid to let some stupid nightmare and crazy imagination get the best of her. Taking a deep breath, she laughed quietly at herself and threw herself back on her bed.

Leaning over the side of her bed, she pulled up her comforter…only to see a pale face with red eyes and fangs smirking back at her. Clawed hands reached for her… and she screamed…

* * *

Her mother woke to the screams of her daughter just before 4:00. Her daughter had been complaining of sleepless nights due to nightmares as of late, but she'd never screamed in such terror before. Rushing over to her daughter's room, she tried opening the door as her daughter's screams got louder and more terrifying, making her panic. The doorknob was jammed. She tried jiggling it, pushing and pulling, doing whatever she could to open it. Just as she was about to grab her son's bat to break through the door, the screams suddenly stopped…and the door miraculously opened as if it had been unlocked the whole time… only to reveal that there was no one inside the room.

Off in the distance, she heard a howl.

* * *

.

.

.

Truth to tell, this did, in fact, happen to one of my friends. This happened to him when he was a kid and had moved with his family to a new house in a different state. Oddly enough, the first house there that they lived in was numbered 666. He woke up one night and just couldn't go back to sleep when he heard howling. He thought it was a stray dog, but everytime he heard the howling, it came closer and closer until he heard it outside his bedroom door and felt it inside his room trying to pull his blanket off. He fought to keep the blanket over him and eventually, whatever it was, let go and didn't bother him again. He told his parents about it and since his parents were both shamans, they did a spirit calling and found out that one of the previous owners' spirits was still in the house and wanted his family out as it refused to leave. Needless to say, they had to leave... unfortunately, the next house they went to was haunted as well, but that's a story for another time!

Hope you enjoyed this!


	16. The House

Hey all! I'm back with a _long_ oneshot for Halloween! (though I didn't make it in time for Halloween *grumble grumble*) but its done so here it is! I did it for a scary challenge on Dokuga, the 2nd attempt, so hopefully it's scary... hopefully. *fingers crossed!* By the way, this is...unedited! *le gasp!* I know, but it's late and I gotta wake up in a few hours for work so this is all I can do for now.

Snow Pearl will show up soon with an update! Promise!

* * *

**Waiting: The House**

_by PhoenixBlade_

_**Rated M**_

* * *

.

Sessshoumaru scowled as he came face to face with the house that belonged to his brother. Inuyasha's tastes in houses weren't very good in his opinion. It was a large Victorian house, red with white lining the edges and a black tiled rooftop. Looking at the surrounding, he saw the tall trees surrounding the house like a barricade, casting dark shadows along the walls of the house before they swerved around to hide behind the house, shading the backyard from view as if hiding a secret. A tall, black metal fence cut off the house from prying eyes at the front and a large metal gate had to be opened by a set of keys to allow them in. The shrubbery had been trimmed and the grass was green and from the smell of things, had been cut recently. It was…quaint, but nothing to fawn over as he preferred Japanese-styled houses like his own. In all actuality, he'd wanted to stay far away from this place as much as he could, but circumstances as of late, concerning his brother, who was now deceased, demanded his presence here.

"It's cute," came a female voice, though it betrayed the truth by the hesitation in her voice.

He turned to see his girlfriend, Kagome, close his car door and come up to stand beside him.

He frowned, "Cute would not be what this Sesshoumaru would describe it as."

Her hands flew up, "Well sorry Mr. Ice prick. It's not every day I come to hang out at the gloominess of your brother's house."

"_Half_ brother," he corrected her, "and I have not come to _hang_ _out_ at his house. I am merely here to remove his belongings before the real estate agent puts it on the market."

"Why not just have them throw away his stuff?" she asked.

He gave her a 'are you seriously asking me this?' look.

Her hands flew up again in defense, "Hey, no offense Sesshoumaru, but from everything you've told me, I thought you didn't like him? I didn't know Inuyasha long, but it seemed like he felt the way same way about you too."

He snorted, "Dislike would not be able to explain the nature of our relationship."

"Whatever you say," she sighed in defeat and looked up at the house, "This place looks creepy. Wish I brought more than one of gramps' ofuda with me."

His eyes went back to the house. Its figured seemed to be looming over them, setting his nerves on edge, but he waved it off as he began his trek down the cobbled path to the house. A house was a house, and he was here to clean out his brother's belongings whether he liked it or not, by orders of his father… but that didn't stop the uneasy feeling he had as he came closer to the house.

Once he took his first step onto the porch, Kagome suddenly grabbed his sleeve. He turned to see her staring at one of the large windows in front with a nervous look on her face.

"Hey," she turned to him nervously, "there's no one else at this house right now…right?"

"No. The real estate agent will not be here until tomorrow morning. There should be no others," he told her.

"Oh…ok."

Curiosity got the best of him, "Why do you ask?"

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "I…I thought I saw someone in one of the windows looking down at us… but maybe it was just nothing…"

One of his eyebrows rose, but said nothing. He returned his gaze to the doors in front of him as he made it up the steps. Kagome hurried up the steps after him as he dug out the house key.

"Hey Sesshoumaru?"

He merely 'hn'd?' at her as he tried out several keys for the front door.

"Have you ever gotten the feeling that you're being watched?"

He snorted at her comment and said nothing as he fit a key into the lock and finally opened the door. It creaked as it opened wide, as if beckoning the both of them into the house.

.

* * *

.

The inside of the house was dark. Though it was still bright out, all the windows were covered with heavy curtains, letting little light in. They could make out sheet covered furniture from the dim light, but despite it all, it was like seeing an endless abyss of darkness as they stared into the house.

"Sesshoumaru, I love you and all, but doesn't this spell out doom and gloom in a creepy sort of way?" Kagome spoke up, apprehension spilling out in every word she said, "Can't you just have someone else take care of this?"

He gulped in uneasiness, but shook it off as he turned to her, "Father's words are the law. I must see to Inuyasha's things."

She was silent for a few seconds before replying meekly, "If you say so…"

His hand slid into hers, as if to calm her down before stepping across the threshold into the parlor of the old house. They were met with darkness. The house was deathly silent. It reminded Sesshoumaru of a graveyard.

Just as he let out a breath, there was a loud creak before a loud BOOM! threw the both of them several feet into the air. They immediately turned to see the front door had slammed itself shut.

Kagome whimpered and pulled herself close to his side, gripping onto his arm for dear life. Her purse was crushed between his arm and her soft breasts, and she was trembling. Although it was a very arousing sight, he wasn't aroused by it at all, because she was trembling out of _fear_.

"I've got a _very_ bad feeling about this…" she whispered.

Sesshoumaru scoffed at her, but truthfully, he felt the same way, yet what kind of man was he if he couldn't be the tougher one of the two? Kagome had told him before, that coming from a spiritual family and living at a shrine made her sensitive to spirits. Though he didn't believe in spirits, perhaps she herself was feeling something in the house? Paying it no more thought, he turned to his left, where he knew the light switch to be and flicked it on. The light flickered momentarily before the room was flooded with light from the chandelier and lamps... Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, but kept her grip tight on his arm. He turned to his girlfriend and gave her a small smile. She looked up at him and gave him a dazzling smile in return.

Now able to see, Sesshoumaru took a good look at the parlor. White sheets of fabric had been draped over the furniture. A few paintings and portraits had been hung on the walls, but were covered as well. Pulling away from Kagome, Sesshoumaru set out to work. One by one, he pulled the fabrics off chairs, tables, a piano and lamps until the carpeted floor was littered with the same white cloth. As he pulled the cloth from the last portrait that hung over the fireplace, he heard Kagome gasp. Confused, he saw her point and he turned to look.

There, encased in the delicately carved photo frame, was his brother in his wedding outfit; a black montsuki, haori and hakama. His wife, Kikyo, sat beside him in her own wedding outfit; a white shiromuku. They looked at the camera, one in happiness and the other content. He remembered the picture, because he had been standing next to the cameraman when it had been taken, though he had wanted to be anywhere but in front of the couple that day. His father and his stepmother had been gushing over the couple, making Inuyasha smile like a love struck pubescent boy. His bride though, had been quiet throughout the whole ceremony and distant, as though her mind were elsewhere.

"She looks so beautiful…" Kagome breathed.

"Not as beautiful as you were that day," he smirked.

Kagome blushed.

On the day of his brother's wedding, he did his utmost to stay away from the married couple as he could, but in doing so, it had caught the attention of the sister of his bride, who promptly came over to try to include him to participate in the festivities. Although he had been annoyed at her at first, he found himself attracted and since then, they had been together, his Kagome and him.

"Come, we should go look at the other rooms," he said as he held out his hand to her.

She smiled and took it as he led the way to the next room. He turned on the light to the semi-dark dining room, revealing it to be long and spacious. Pulling off the fabric, they found a long wooden table with six chairs. To the side was a large fireplace and across the room was a display case of beautiful china.

"Sesshoumaru, as creepy as this house may be, it's absolutely gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

He grunted in reply as he pulled the curtains to the side to look out to the backyard. IT was starting to get cloudy despite the skies being clear before they arrived. The tall trees hid much of the light from the backyard, but he could see that the backyard had been well cared for. A small fountain stood at the center of the lawn with a small flower bed around it. He frowned at the sparsely scattered lawn ornaments, as if they had been set there to try to give the illusion of a busy backyard instead of it being empty. Instead, it looked like little dark creatures were creeping towards the house, malicious in their intent to whoever was residing in the house at that moment.

He promptly dropped the curtain, deciding that there was nothing of worth in the backyard.

.

* * *

.

Turning to Kagome, he noticed that she had gone on to the next room, the kitchen, without him. Leaning against a counter, he observed as she opened several cupboards and perused through the empty fridge. She was so curious, one reason why he loved her so, but sometimes her curiosity would get her into trouble, hence the reason why she was the black sheep in her family, or so she told him.

When she pulled her head out of the fridge, she turned and jumped when she saw him.

"Oh my god! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she yelled at him.

He smirked, "Hungry?"

"No, just wanted to take a look, that's all," she shrugged.

"The food would have spoiled already," he said as he pushed himself away from the counter, "I'm pretty sure the real estate agent threw it all out already."

She shrugged again.

CLUNK!

Both of them jumped and immediately turned towards the door to pantry.

"What was that!" Kagome almost shrieked.

Putting a finger to his lips, he steadily made his way over to the door, making as little noise as possible. As his hand reached for the doorknob, he turned to Kagome, who had found herself a broom. He lifted a finger to her and she nodded, understanding what he wanted her to do. He counted… one… two… three!

He pulled the door open quickly and readied to jump the intruder… only to be thrown back as a black bat flew past him and all over the kitchen. Kagome was screaming and swinging the broom around in frenzy. Sesshoumaru turned to see the kitchen door leading to the backyard and opened it quickly.

"Make it go out!" he yelled at her!

"I can't!" she screamed, "Stupid bat's too fast!"

"Do it, miko!"

"You try doing this and you'll see how hard this is! Dammit!" she yelled back as it screeched and flew away from her.

Grabbing a towel, he ran towards them and began swinging it around madly, ushering it out the door. With one last screech, the bat flew out the door and Sesshoumaru slammed it shut.

Panting, the two looked at each other for a few seconds before they erupted into laughter.

"Man… I wonder if Inuyasha and Kikyo ever had to deal with this," Kagome giggled.

"Perhaps," he chuckled.

.

* * *

.

After they recovered from their bat ordeal, the two decided to go upstairs to see the bedrooms.

"I guess since this house is ancient, there's gotta be some holes in it too, huh?" Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru nodded as he left the kitchen towards the staircase, "I was against Inuyasha buying this house, but he insisted. Father, being how he is towards the brat, allowed it."

"Well, it's not very nice calling your brother that," Kagome frowned.

"_Half_ brother," he corrected her again as he turned to look up the stairs and froze.

A ghostly figure of a woman in a dress looked down at him. She stared down straight at him as he stared back. It was as if she were staring deep down into his soul, piercing and penetrating, unwelcoming. He was suffocating, wanting to scream, yell, say anything, but all his words were lodged deep in his throat.

The lights suddenly turned on and he blinked and looked up at… nothing.

"Sesshoumaru? What're you doing?" came Kagome's voice.

He tore away from the stairs to look at Kagome who had her hand over the light switch right behind him. A shuddering breath escaped him. Had he been holding his breath that whole time? Was that even real? Had he imagining it?

"I…" _don't know…_

"Aren't we going upstairs?" she asked.

He stopped, having to catch his breath for a second, and then nodded. Having a firm grip on the railing, he went up the stairs, eyes alert… just in case. Step by step, creak after creak; he finally managed to make it to the top without meeting any more ghostly figures or having his imagination run wild. His hands sought out the light switch and turn on the hallway lights. Turning left, he saw the doors to the bedrooms, a bathroom and at the end of the hallway was a large window that looked outside. From what he could see, the weather was looking gloomy.

"Sesshoumaru? Maybe we should hurry up and check the rooms. The weather looks like its getting worse…" she told him, "and remember that bad feeling I had from earlier?"

He turned to look at her and nodded.

"Well, it's screaming at me now to GTFO."

He looked at her for a few seconds, seeing that her face had paled a little. Perhaps they should leave… but after he checked the bedrooms. His father was a stubborn man so he had no choice but to finish this so they could get the hell out.

"After…" he croaked and stopped.

He hadn't realized that his mouth had run dry.

Coughing, he continued, "After I go through his things, then we can go. If you want, you can go to the car first and wait for me, but it might take me a while."

Kagome looked anxious to leave, but shook her head, "Kind of pointless if you're here and I'm out there. Might as well stay with you."

He nodded and opened the door to the first room. One of the guestrooms. There wasn't much as they rummaged through and tried the next room. It was another guestroom with little in it. The next room was the bathroom. It was clean with little in it. Across from it was another guestroom, one he had used the last time he was here during vacation with his parents. Of course, he had only stayed in the room for a night and a half before taking the car off to stay the rest of the holiday at a hotel. His father and Inuyasha had been furious and his step-mother tried persuading him to return, but he was adamant about staying at the hotel.

He gulped as he opened the door and walked in. Looking around, he saw nothing out of place. The bed looked perfectly done and the rug he remembered overturning had been put back in place. The toiletries he had brought and forgotten to take with him were left untouched on the dresser. His hairbrush was lying on the dresser, still with strands of his hair tangled in the teeth. He looked in the mirror and jumped at his own reflection before shrugging it off. Opening one of the closets, he saw that some of the robes and towels that had been there the last time were in the exact same spots.

"I'm assuming this was the room you stayed in last time you were here?" Kagome asked.

He turned to see her sitting on the bed looking at him. They looked at each other for a few seconds before he looked away with something akin to guilt on his face.

"We should look at the master bedroom," he finally said and left the room.

She didn't follow him.

.

* * *

.

Opening the door to his brother's room, he was met with perpetual it had gotten darker outside. The weather was getting worse and a strange feeling in his gut was gnawing at him that it would only get worse from here on out. His hand reached out to the side to turn on the light. The light switch was not where he thought it'd be so his hand searched the wall until he felt something cold, like a hand, against his …and it _moved_.

His head snapped to the side and his fingers found the light switch and turn it on. With the lights on, he only saw his hand on the light switch, nothing more. With a swift eye, he scanned the room for anything else, but saw nothing except the things that belonged in the room. He saw a door that would lead off into the bathroom... but that was the one area he didn't want to look in. Sure, perhaps the bathroom had been cleaned spotless and polished till it shined, but the horrors that happened in that room would bring up the horrific pictures that the cops showed his father and him.

Turning away from the room, he went over to Inuyasha's dresser and looked through his things. Seeing nothing of consequence there, he went to the closet and opened it. Hangers of his clothes were hung. Beneath it were boxes. Apparently some of Inuyasha's things had been boxed already, or may have never been unboxed. One of the boxes caught his eye, _Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru._

Picking up the box, he brought it over to the bed and opened it. Pulling things out one by one, he was brought into a memorable moment with the brat he called his brother-correction, his _half_ brother. Though the brat was an annoyance and caused much trouble for him, he was still blood and despite the distance between the two, Inuyasha had still been his brother and the memories they shared, before he had found Kikyo, was cherished. Nostalgia almost brought tears to his eyes, but he willed them away as he pulled out Inuyasha's photo album. The first section of the album held pictures of the both of them when they were children. As he flipped page after page of photos, he finally came towards the end, realizing that they were pictures of when Inuyasha began dating Kikyo. The pictures of them together thinned out until only a few formal pictures of them were left.

Turning towards the last few pages, he stopped and flipped back a page as he realized that one of his pictures was missing. It was a very good picture that Inuyasha had taken of him, though Inuyasha had caught him unaware, he admitted that it was a very good side shot of his person. If he could take any picture from the photo album, it would have been that one, but it wasn't there. Where could it have gone?

A cold breath at the back of his neck tore him away from the photo album as he grabbed a warm body and pinned it underneath him on Inuyasha's bed.

"Ouch!" cried his girlfriend, "What the hell!"

"Kagome?" he questioned.

Kagome! What a relief it was!

First the figure on the stairs, then the cold hand. He was going to go insane!

"Seriously! You're freaking me out here!" she screamed at him.

He blinked and pulled back, help her sit up.

"I'm sorry."

She coughed, "I should hope so!"

She continued ranting, but he only stared at her, taking in her miffed self and enjoying the fact that he was not going insane. While she was in mid-rant, he suddenly hugged her, glad of her presence.

"What-what're you doing?" she stammered.

"Hugging you. What does it look like, miko?"

She grumbled a bit before hugging him back. He really did love her. What would he do without her?

Then the lights suddenly went out.

.

* * *

.

Not wanting to deal with the house any longer, they stepped outside only to have their clothes whipping with the wind and their hair lashing at their faces. The wind was strong, blowing leaves every which way and the trees groaned as their branches shook in a mad fury. The weather had gotten worse in the short time that they were there and the skies had gotten so clouded that it was as if night had fallen. Sesshoumaru had run into his car to get it started but the engine wouldn't start. He didn't know what was wrong. Kagome was still back on the porch on her phone with the real estate agent about the house's lights.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The gates were slamming against fence fiercely. If left alone, it was very possible that they could be torn from the hinges and cause damage to property, as well as his car. Turning to Kagome, from his car, she shook her head at him, telling him all that he needed to know. Carefully, he grabbed the gates and locked them with the keys before running back to Kagome into the cold dark house.

"What'd she say?" he asked Kagome as she closed the door behind them.

"No luck. She can't do anything because the lines to the electric company are dead. She can't get back with them until the weather's passed."

He sighed, "And us?"

"She suggested that we spend the night here. There's a large storm headed this way," she replied.

"I suppose that we must. The car won't start," he told her.

"What? Seriously?" she groaned.

_I feel the same way…_ he thought dejectedly.

There was something wrong with the house. He didn't want to be here as much as Kagome, but they were left with little choice.

In the moments that followed, they found lighting from candles and some gas lamps stashed throughout the house as décor. Though they were glad to have some light, the dark gloominess of the house did little to erase their apprehension.

"I don't like this house…" Kagome said to him as she curled up beside him on the sofa.

"Hn." was his agreed answer as he pulled her closer.

They sat in silence as the wind howled outside, the trees shook like mad and the rain pelting against the rooftop. It sounded like a battle outside, but he would have preferred dealing with that instead of the graveyard like silence in the house. Though he preferred silence, this was too much.

BAM!

Or perhaps not.

Both turned towards the kitchen where the noise had come from. Unease wove its way into the both of them. With a quick glance at each other, they both got up, grabbing whatever they could use as weapons nearby, and made their way to the kitchen. It was dark, harder for them to find their way around the dining room into the kitchen. Both looked around to see nothing amiss in the kitchen, they even circled around the island in the middle of the kitchen twice but found nothing.

"Sessh!" Kagome whispered loudly.

He turned to her, but her finger pointed towards the pantry door. He looked to see it closed.… He never closed it.

After the bat incident, both had gone upstairs to the bedrooms and when coming back down, had gone down the small hallway that connected to the parlor so they didn't have to go around the kitchen through the dining room. He'd forgotten all about it. There was no way for Kagome to have done it, even during the time he had left her in the guest room to go to his brother's bedroom, he would have heard her going down the stairs at least. Someone _or_ something had closed the door…unless if it was one of those doors that closed itself, which he was hoping it was.

Getting angry, Sesshoumaru walked up to the door and yanked it open as Kagome inhaled loudly in fear… yet nothing happened. He looked inside the pantry and saw nothing except what had been there earlier. Growling, he shut the door.

"I think… we should go to sleep," he suggested, though it sounded more like an order.

Kagome nodded and followed him as he walked up the steps to the next floor.

"Where do we sleep?" asked Kagome.

He stared grimly down the dark corridor at the room that he had slept in before. He didn't want to sleep there, nor did he want to be near his brother's bedroom. Turning to the first room, he opened it and walked in.

"Here is fine," he said.

.

* * *

.

Kagome had gone to the bathroom to change into one of Kikyo's robes to sleep in. Her clothes were difficult to sleep in so she had gone to his brother's bedroom to retrieve one of her robes. He was currently lying down on the bed, on his side facing away from the door. He was sleepy, but the events of the day were making it hard for him to drift off. He didn't want to be here, didn't even want to be sleeping in the same house where he had angrily left the last time he stayed here.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the door creak open. Not wanting Kagome to worry over him, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. The bed shifted with her weight, though he found it odd that he didn't hear her footsteps, but thought nothing of it. A pair of arms wrapped around his bare waist tightly. Her arms were cold, freezing almost. Why were they so cold? He then felt it, _ice_ cold lips brush against his ear.

"_Sesshoumaru_…"

His eyes snapped open as he recognized that voice. Turning his head slightly, he saw a pale face with dull gray eyes staring back down at him… then he jumped out of bed.

"Sesshoumaru?"

He was looking at the door to his room, it was opened and Kagome was standing there in a pink sleeping robe. He looked back down on his bed and saw nothing. Had he been asleep? Sleepwalking? Wiping his forehead, he noticed that he was sweating and panting.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked as she closed the door and walked over to the bed.

_'What was wrong with him indeed…?'_

"I'm…never mind. It's nothing… nothing at all," he shook his head and crawled back into bed with Kagome.

She wrapped her arms around him, making him stiff for a moment before realizing that it was her warm arms around him and relaxed.

They lay awake in silence for a long time before she spoke up.

"I know you're awake…" she said, "and I think it's about time you told me what happened the last time you were here."

"Kagome…" he began but she cut him off.

"Sesshoumaru, I need to know, what happened? I know you and Inuyasha don't get along, but the whole way here, you were on edge, like you didn't want to come here at all. Is there something you're not telling me?"

He was quiet. He didn't want to tell her, but he loved her and she deserved to know the truth.

"I will, if you promise you won't leave me?" he whispered.

"Sesshoumaru, nothing in this world could make me leave you… unless if you had a love child, and you're actually a woman, then that's another thing, but since I know you're not, then no, I won't leave you," she tried joking, but his mood remained the same.

He began hesitantly, "Kagome... the last time I was here, I stayed one night, and left the next day, madder than hell."

"Why's that?" she asked, burying her face into his back.

He gulped and continued, "I came here last time with my father and stepmother to see Inuyasha and his wife for vacation. Although I refused at first, my father forced me to come with them. So in the end, I came. The first day, we had arrived that evening and only had enough time for an evening meal and sleep. It wasn't until the next day that, in your own words, 'shit hit the fan.'"

He paused and licked his lips. She nodded into his back, her signal for him to continue.

"I had gotten sick the next day, perhaps due to food poisoning. Either way, I was not in the best condition to leave the house as Inuyasha and his wife were supposed to take my father and stepmother out to town. I stayed behind as they went on their way. It wasn't until later that evening that I woke up to Kikyo…"

He drifted off, not knowing how to continue. Kagome remained silent, waiting on him.

"I became feverish, Kagome, delusional and hallucinating to some extent. I thought that it was you who was touching me, _tasting_ me. When I woke, I was horrified to see Kikyo before me and not you."

Kagome stiffened behind him, her arms tightening a bit.

"Thankfully I had pushed her away before anything happened, but she insisted that we continue on, that she loved me, had always loved me since she had seen me, not Inuyasha. I told her that I harbored no such feelings towards her, but she continued and even went so far as to try to blackmail me, for you see, though I may not have _liked_ Inuyasha, I still loved him as my brother. Kikyo knew of this and tried to use it to make me submit to her, but I would have none of it. Inuyasha loved her, more than anything in the world and to have her betray him would have been too much. I was the horrible older brother, but I did not want him to _hate_ me for a misunderstanding such as that and so, I left the house and never returned… until today."

Kagome was quiet for a long time before she spoke up, "Do you… do you think he found out?"

"Though I hope not, I think that might have been the case. On the day that he… passed away, he had called me and left me a message that he wanted to talk to me. He sounded… troubled."

"Did he explain why he needed to talk?"

He shook his head, "No, he did not."

"Oh…"

There was another silence.

"Kagome?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Are you… angry with me?"

"…No…" she said sleepily, "you were just trying to be a good brother…"

When she said nothing more, he spoke up, "Will you stay with me then?"

"I'll always stay with you cause you're mine. I love you…" she yawned.

He smiled in the dark and held her arms around him tighter.

"I love you too."

.

* * *

.

He woke up to an empty bed. It was still dark out. The wind seemed to have gotten stronger and sounded like it was pounding into the walls of the house. The rain calmed a little, but was still coming down hard. He heard the branches scraping up against the house. He groaned and turned over to cuddle next to his girlfriend… only to find her side empty.

"Kagome?" he whispered.

That bad feeling he had in his gut from earlier was stronger now. Something was up. He got up and looked around the room, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. The door was open. Was she taking a bathroom break?

He hoped she was as he lay back down. After a few minutes, that bad feeling he had was nagging at him to go check up on her. What if something had happened to her? The house was just bad and creepy all over; he didn't want to leave her alone. After a few more minutes, he finally decided to get up and check on her.

Barefoot, he made his to the door, but almost ran over one of the tables before realizing that Kagome's clothes were on it. On top of the pile was her ofuda. Not thinking about it, he grabbed it and pushed it into his pocket and walked out into the hallway. Looking down towards the hall he saw that the doors were closed, but he saw a faint light coming from one of the guest bedrooms, the one that he had stayed in before. It was slightly opened.

Unsure as to why she was in there, he made his way over and opened the door. A gas lamp had been lit and was set on nightstand by where Kagome sat on the bed, looking away from him. In her hand was a photo. He could hear the rain start to come down harder outside. There was thunder in the distance, but it sounded like it was coming closer.

"Kagome? What are you doing here?" he asked as he walked to the foot of the bed.

Upon hearing his voice, she placed the photo down in her lap before standing up and turning to him. His eyes went to the photo, realizing that it was the one missing from Inuyasha's photo album. Where had it been all this time? He turned to look at her. Her eyes, why did they look-

"Hello my love," she smiled.

His blood ran cold at that moment she spoke. Her voice was a bit deeper than Kagome's, lined with a hint of seriousness. He knew this voice, the same voice that had been obsessed with him from the moment they met until the moment she confessed her love for him a while ago while she had been alive. Again, there was thunder booming in the distance, though it sounded closer now.

He began to get angry. She had taken over Kagome's body, his Kagome!

"What have you done with Kagome!" he was seething with anger.

"Why, what need do you have for Kagome when you can have me?" she cooed as she walked around the bed to him.

"Leave, Kikyo! Give me back Kagome!"

"Kagome is not good for you, she cannot love you the way I can love you! Can't you see that, my love?"

Her hands moved to his chest, but he batted them away before grabbing onto her shoulders tightly. He heard the loud BOOM! of thunder almost overhead. There was a flash of lightning outside, emitting an ominous glow in the dark room before fading.

"Bring back Kagome!"

"Kagome is gone! You have me now, like how it should be!" she told him, "I've always been watching, you and only you!"

He was reminded of the Kikyo in the wedding photo, but she hadn't been looking at the cameraman, she had been looking at _him_! Her arms rose to circle around him and he pushed her back. She had tried embracing him earlier on the bed before he slept, he was sure of it now, just as she had caressed his hand as he tried turning the light on in his brother's bedroom.

"Leave, you bitch!" he growled at her.

"I love how dangerous you can be," she purred and began leaning in to kiss him.

He threw her back on the bed and pinned her down. The rain was pounding hard against the rooftop and windows. He could hear the booming of the thunder directly over them.

"Leave, wench! The dead should stay dead!"

"I would not be dead if not for her!" she yelled at him.

"Lies!"

BOOM!

Yet she was insistent, "We could have been together, but that sister of mine did not want to lose you! She went to my husband and told him about my love for you, how it was your arms that held me instead of my husband, how it was you who's name I cried out in my head as he took me every night! We could have been together had she never approached you on my wedding day!"

"Kagome proved herself worthy of my attention and love, not you! Never you!" he snarled at her.

"Long have we pined for you, Kagome and me. Did you know that like you and Inuyasha, Kagome and I used to be best of friends? Oh the stories we would tell each other of our love for you, how we spied upon you day after day of what you ate, what you wore. I approached you, but you never saw me. That's why I went to your brother, as that would have been the closest I would ever come into contact with you, but Kagome ruined it all for you and me! I hate her! I hate her for coming between us!"

BOOM! BOOM!

He then realized that when the ghostly woman had been Kikyo, and that it was Kagome she had been staring down at in jealousy from the top of the staircase earlier, not him. Her hatred of Kagome was deeper than he realized.

"If she had never told Inuyasha, then I would have never had to kill him!"

Suddenly, he grabbed her throat and began squeezing.

"You… you killed him? It was you!" he yelled at her in anger and agony.

The cops had said that it was Inuyasha who had killed her and then committed suicide, but it had been her instead?

"We argued once he found out about my love for you, due to my sister's interference! He was going to leave me! If he left me, I would never be able to see you again! I couldn't let that happen! So I killed him while he was showering! I killed him so that way, I would have been able to be with you!" she confess in a mad fury, but proud and happy.

Lightning flashed outside the window, followed by a thunderous BOOM! the room was filled with a faint flow before he faded again.

He squeezed harder, wanting to kill the stupid bitch himself.

She choked and coughed, but laughed, "Go ahead! Kill your precious Kagome! If I can't have you, neither can her!"

Realization kicked in and he let go of her throat. She laughed and coughed for air at the same time.

"Don't you see? We can be together, finally! I've been waiting all this time, and now, we can finally be together like how we were meant to be!"

BOOM!

Before he could say or do anything more, he felt the ofuda in his pocket, pricking him through his pants.

"No… we will never be together!" he spat at her as he pulled out the ofuda, "give me back Kagome!"

The moment he slapped the ofuda upon her forehead, the wind outside began howling louder than never before, the rain pounded down on the house with a vendetta as claps of thunder made itself known in a godlike fury. Lightning struck the house, emitting the house in an eerie glow as blood curling screams erupted from the mouth of Kagome's body. A strong gust of wind from nowhere suddenly flew into the room as the fading glow was replaced by a rising and rapidly expanding ball of light from the ofuda. Then suddenly, a strong bolt of light struck out at Sesshoumaru, sending him hurling into the mirror across the room.

The light in the room began to fade as he drifted off into unconsciousness. As his eyes closed, he thought he saw his brother kneeling down and telling him to sleep… but he saw no more as the darkness took him.

.

* * *

.

Kagome waved goodbye to Sesshoumaru's father as he walked down the hospital hallway with his crying wife. Sighing, she walked back in the room and closed the door. She could hear the beeping coming from the monitor and sounds of breathing coming from the comatose patient hiding behind the white curtain. Pulling it aside, she looked down at the occupant of the bed, the man she loved. He looked as if he was only sleeping, but several weeks had gone by since he had last been awake since the incident at his brother's old Victorian house.

Still, he remained sleeping, as if he were stuck in some sweet dream and never wanted to wake from it. After a few moments, she turned off the light and climbed into bed with him. She curled up beside him, resting his head against her breasts and stroked his silver hair with one hand.

"I love you Sesshoumaru…" she whispered to him, "and I won't let anyone take you away from me."

She kissed his hair.

"I told Inuyasha so that he would divorce Kikyo. That way, she wouldn't have contact with you anymore, but she ended up killing Inuyasha so I had to kill her instead and make the cops think it was Inuyasha who killed her before he committed suicide."

She placed his hand over hers.

"Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Inuyasha, but someone had to take the blame. I'm just sorry that Kikyo had to come back and try to tear us apart, but I'm glad that you love me enough to drive her spirit out. You know now, we were always meant to be together… because you're _mine_."

She leaned down and kissed his lips.

"I waited for you and when the opportunity came, I took it… but now, it looks like I must wait for you again, but I don't mind. I love you and you love me, and that's all that really matters."

She snuggled in closer to him.

"Come back to me soon, my love, I'm waiting…" she told him sleepily and drifted off to sleep.

Unbeknownst to her, his hand moved, gripping onto her hand tightly, as if answering her…or claiming her…

.

* * *

.

Uh...review...?


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